Paul Dillinger joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2010, and is currently the Vice President, Head of Global Design Innovation for the Levi’s brand. He and his team are responsible for industry-leading product initiatives focused on sustainability and performance, including the recent launches of the Plant-Based 501® and Circular 501® programs.
Paul was born and raised in a small logging community in the Pacific Northwest. After graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in Fashion Design from Washington University in St. Louis, he moved to Italy as the first Fulbright Scholar for the study of fashion. There, he earned his MFA in Fashion Design from the Domus Academy in Milan. In 1995, Dillinger moved to New York City and worked as a designer and brand development specialist in the denim sector.
In 2012, Paul joined the Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Fellowship program where he developed the WELLTHREAD Collection; a novel design methodology and product platform that uses the apparel supply chain as a tool for research through practice; testing and validating sustainable design theory through industrial production and commercial distribution.
Before Levi’s, Paul was on the faculty at Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. He has taught and lectured at a range art, design, and business schools including the California College of the Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Haas School of Business UC Berkeley, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.