Outlook Magazine - Fall 2024

BLUE LABEL Exclusive Merchandise

With a B.S. in apparel design and manufacturing and an M.S. in operations and supply management, Courtney Christenson has built a career working with big names, including 3M, JCrew, Lands' End and Nike. We were StoutProud to reconnect with the technical design senior manager about her role and recollections about UW-Stout. UW-Stout: How long have you worked at Nike? Christenson : Eight and a half years. UW-Stout: What is the role of a technical designer? Christenson : As senior manager of technical design for women’s lifestyle clothing, I manage a team of technical designers. Apparel designers design clothes, and then the technical designers make sure the clothes fit, are constructed appropriately and adhere to price and quality. We’re engineers of fit and craft. We are the technical liaison between design and manufacturing. UW-Stout: What clothing do you work on? Christenson : I recently transitioned from men’s to women’s lifestyle clothing. If you are wearing a fleece hoodie, chances are my team worked on it. In the women’s line, we work on fun collaborations like one with pro tennis player Naomi Osaka, as well as fleece and track suits – lots of track suits. And every once in a while, we get extra special projects to work on. I “fit” a Medicon Bearbrick (bear-shaped collectible toy) last year for a special tech fleece 10-year anniversary release. UW-Stout: What do you love about your career? Christenson : I love working in apparel product creation. I love clothes and clothing construction and well-balanced patterns. Sometimes I can’t believe this is my real-life job. Nike is an amazing company to work for. The campus is lovely, the benefits are “bananas,” and I appreciate working for a company that aligns with my values around social justice and sustainability. UW-Stout: What did you love about UW-Stout? Christenson : I’m biased because I worked at Stout as a lecturer for five years, but the professors care about the students and the programs. The size of Menomonie and the size of Stout was good for me, not too big, and not too small. I got to know a lot of people during my undergrad, and I’m still connected to so many people from my undergrad days. There’s a huge Stout contingent out here in Portland, and I work with some former classmates at Nike. The polytechnic approach also helped me master skills that I’m still able to use today in my career.

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Outlook 2024