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Leila Kelleher

Leila Kelleher

Assistant Professor
Education PhD Kinesiology - University of Western Ontario; Masters of Music (Performance and Literature) - Eastman School of Music; Bachelor of Music (Hons) - University of Adelaide

Dr. Leila Kelleher is a fashion scholar and designer whose work focuses on size-inclusive design, sustainable fashion, and the application of biomechanics in apparel development. She holds a PhD in Biomechanics and uses interdisciplinary approaches to challenge exclusionary norms in fashion design and education. She is the co-founder of the Size Inclusion in Fashion Lab, which fosters research, industry partnerships, and curriculum development to advance equitable practices in fashion. Her first book, Plus Size Patternmaking for Womenswear (Bloomsbury, 2026), is the first dedicated textbook on plus-size patternmaking, offering technical methods that reflect the needs and proportions of plus-size bodies. Her second book, Size-Inclusive Sustainable Fashion, currently under contract, critically examines the limitations of mainstream sustainability discourse and offers new frameworks for inclusion. Dr. Kelleher most recently served as Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Social Justice at Parsons School of Design and was formerly a Professor of Health Sciences.