The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced the official upgrade of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) and the establishment of the School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT), the third flagship and independent school within PolyU. The opening ceremony was held at the University’s Jockey Club Innovation Tower recently.
The School is an international institution integrating fashion and textile education, and innovative technology research. It will comprehensively enhance the competitive advantage of SFT graduates and Hong Kong’s fashion and textile industry as well as help with the Greater Bay Area’s market development. The School aims to lead the fashion industry and create societal impact while offering solutions that leverage the research and innovative excellence of the School.
Renowned for its world-class teaching and academic achievements, the School’s academics come from around the world, specialising and leading the way in a variety of academic and research areas including wearable and smart textiles, medical textiles and functional clothing, social fashion design, sustainable fashion, digital fashion marketing, and fashion supply chain management.
The opening ceremony consisted of a list of officiating guests including a Member of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR – Textiles, and Garment constituency; the Chairman of the PolyU Council; the President of PolyU; and the Chairlady of the Advisory Committee of SFT.
In the past, SFT has worked closely with the industrial sector both locally and internationally to introduce knowledge transfer and apply innovative and insightful technologies and meet the increasing demand for advanced technology in the fashion and textile industry.
Significant projects include the Nu-Torque™ singles ring-yarn technology, the personalised posture training system for medical, sports and healthcare applications, and intelligent 3D human-modelling technology. These have had ground-breaking and far-reaching influences within the industry. Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as successfully developing new anti-virus 3D printing materials, anti-virus reusable PU30 masks, and protective clothing, SFT has maintained its close ties with the government, NGOs and disadvantaged groups.
SFT has set aside additional resources to foster academic and technological education and research. Its courses keep pace with the times to best meet market requirements for advanced technology, and new subjects including artificial intelligence, digital fashion design, e-commerce and sustainable development are all being added to the School’s programmes.
The revamped undergraduate programme – BA (Hons) Scheme in Fashion, and the taught postgraduate programme – MA in Global Fashion Management, are vivid representations of a prestigious, high-quality, full-spectrum fashion education with the trilogy of design, business and technology to accommodate local, regional and international demand for fashion talent.
The President of PolyU stated that the new School will push the boundaries of education and research excellence even further. SFT’s vision is to be a world-leading centre in fashion and textiles education, interdisciplinary research and collaboration, playing a pivotal role in developing Hong Kong into a world-renowned fashion hub.
The Chairlady of the SFT Advisory Committee noted that the new School of Fashion and Textiles will emphasise education, research and industry partnerships. She added that PolyU has been a leading institution for fashion and textile education and research, both in Asia and globally, since 1957. The transformation of ITC to the School of Fashion and Textiles reflects its continuing position as an educational leader for many years to come.
