Assistant Professor of Costume Design Erin Carignan is a versatile costume designer and textile artist who has worked in regional theatre, opera, dance, music videos, and print ads in roles as costume designer, stylist, painter-dyer and breakdown artist, and crafts artisan. She has been a part of over 130 professional productions with several theatre companies, most notably Old Globe Theatre, Los Angeles Opera, La Jolla Playhouse, and Pioneer Theatre.

Her research centers around her most passionate subjects: costume design, textile surface, modification, and wearable art. With these art forms, she intentionally pushes the boundaries of design and technology using unusual mediums and unlikely intersections. This research ties in with her own book Dyeing for Entertainment: Dyeing, Painting, Breakdown, and Bling for the Entertainment Industry (Focal Press/Routledge 2024).

She is Vice Chair of the KCACTF Design Technology Management Region 7 and is an active member of USITT, The Costume Society of America, KCACTF, and USA 829.