Susan Abplanalp

Susan Abplanalp serves as a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Design at the University of California, Davis, teaching DES 014: Design Illustration and DES 171: Fashion Illustration. She also holds a lecturing position at the California College of the Arts while operating as Founder, Owner, and CEO of Emery Street Inc., a global garment industry consulting firm.

Her academic credentials include:

• B.S. in Textile and Clothing Design from the University of California, Davis
• M.S.Ed. OTL (Masters of Science in Education) from California State East Bay (2019)

Abplanalp's expertise spans the full garment production lifecycle—from original design and technical illustration to pattern making, private label production, and fitting. Her industry background includes serving as Sr. Manager for Banana Republic Technical Design Services at Gap Inc. She has executed original design projects including fabric development for Chico's FAS (Boston Proper Division), where her collections were selected from custom look books tailored to the brand's specifications. Her pedagogy emphasizes drawing as a functional design tool and conceptualization of fashion within social contexts.

Through Emery Street Inc., she bridges academic instruction with industry practice, providing consulting services in original design, technical development, and production management. Her professional work demonstrates direct application of classroom principles to commercial garment manufacturing.