AAFA Education Foundation Schools

NC State University Wilson College of Textiles, FTM B.S. degree

Within its two concentrations, the B.S. degree in Fashion and Textile Management (FTM) provides students with understanding of the development, distribution and marketing of apparel and textile products in today’s global industries. All FTM students learn fundamentals of the technical and business components of the apparel and textile industries. The degree is industry-focused, with an emphasis on technology application.

The Textile Brand Management and Marketing concentration focuses on the marketing functions required to promote and distribute products in the fiber, textile and apparel industries. Courses provide knowledge and skills for planning and execution of marketing strategy, brand management, retail planning and allocation, consumer behavior, advertising and promotion, and international trade and sourcing. Courses incorporate active learning, including teamwork and application of classroom knowledge to real-world industry challenges.

The Fashion Development and Product Management concentration focuses on the design and manufacture of apparel and textile products for both functional and fashion end uses. Courses cover the fundamentals of product development for apparel and textiles, with a strong emphasis on technology. This concentration provides students with knowledge of sewing, flat pattern making and draping, computer-aided design, and apparel line development and production. Students work actively with industry to address timely challenges in product design and development for textiles and apparel.

Over the past three years, the FTM curriculum has evolved to suit the needs of the industry as recommended by its Industry Advisory Board, such as adding courses in PLM and 3D virtual prototyping. The department has also hired new faculty with industry experience and new technicians to support teaching and research in our multiple industry-grade labs.

Fashion Schools.org rank the Apparel Design and Production program at Oklahoma State University number ONE in the SW United States and Number Six nationally.

Oklahoma State University has a well-developed Apparel Design and Production program that has seen significant improvements since 2016 in facilities for teaching industry skills. The curriculum has long been AAFA endorsed for its strength of content and relevance to the industry needs. Our faculty are skilled in technology applications and have experience serving on ASTM committees and working in the industry. Thus industry standards are known and taught to students. A required review process is held after two semesters to select students for advancement in the program.

There are 2,043 square feet dedicated to Gerber Technologies equipment. This includes a single ply Gerber cutter, 2 Silhouette Tables, AccuScan Pattern Digitizing, MP and SP series plotters. Software to teach Accumark, 3D v11, and YuniquePLM is available to students. The Sewn Products Production lab has 3,111 square feet for student machines and industrial cutting tables and 354 square feet teacher preparation room.

The enrollment in Apparel Design and Production has grown 17% in the past three years. We also have grown the number of students minoring in Apparel Design and Production.

Our curriculum provides education in technical skills, supply chain and sourcing skills outlined as important skills in the 2018 report on the “State of Skills in the Apparel Industry” published by Alvanon and Motif. Our Mass Production course at the senior level provides the platform for students to incorporate their full suite of learned skills. Students learn adobe creative suites and data analysis and are capable of manipulating data to analyze businesses. Included in the curriculum are courses that focus on using the HumanSolutions body scanner for learning sizing and fit, experience in the Mixed Reality Lab and textile surface design. The curriculum requires students to complete a 320 hour professional internship with documentation required for:

• Design Development: preparing technical drawings and spec sheets,
• Patternmaking: Using a sloper from your internship firm, draft a pattern for one of their apparel items, assist designers in the draping of original designs and developing production patterns from the drape, and
• Production: Complete a sequence of operations chart for an apparel item and 4 other goals the student and supervisor select.

Oklahoma State University has had national winners for the past 6 years at the FSF scholarship competition. Apparel design students have traveled with the department to Paris, London, Berlin, Milan, Venice and Florence, Madrid, Barcelona and in 2019 will travel to Prague, Copenhagen and Berlin. Graduates hold positions ranging from Creative Director for Express, Strategic Change Agent/Senior Project manager with Target, Bass Pro, Gear Sports and Hallmark Baby just to name a few.

Take a look at our wonderful spaces along with some student projects.

State University of New York College at Buffalo: Fashion and Textile Technology Department

The fashion and textile technology program at Buffalo State is the only baccalaureate program in Western New York that offers a variety of career preparation options for the multifaceted, global fashion industry. We offer four concentration areas including Fashion Merchandising, Apparel Design, Apparel Product Development and Textile Design.

The mission of the Fashion and Textile Technology (FTT) Department is to educate emerging professionals to develop creativity, leadership, social responsibility, and global awareness to meet challenges in today's fashion business through teaching, research, and experiential learning programs. FTT graduates value sustainable and ethical choices, appreciate cultural diversity, and are also well versed in the complexities of the technological environment.

The fashion and textile technology program prepares students to work in the fashion industry in textile and fashion design, CAD/CAM product development, and fashion retailing and merchandising.

The department uses industrial machinery, an updated textile lab and the latest computer software (off-the-shelf and industry specific) to train our students for current industry positions. Our students are challenged to think critically. We implement many industry related projects in our classes and partner with industry to bring a “real life” aspect to our curriculum. Recent updates to the curriculum have focused on the addition of topics in sustainable issues,

The Fashion and Textile Technology department CAD/CAM facilities are an integral part of the curriculum and include Adobe Creative Suite, Optitex (PDS, Mark, Grade, Digitize, Modulate, 3D Runway suite), NedGraphics Fashion and Print Studio (Design and Repeat, Color Reduction & Cleaning, Easy Coloring, Easy Weave, Easy Knit Storyboard & Cataloging, Easy Map, Easy Knit with Cable Stitch Library), SmartDraw, CLO3D, Artlandia SymmetryWorks, and a Mutoh Digital Fabric Printer.

Students work on industrial equipment sewing machines and practice their skills on over 50 dress forms ranging from Misses’ sizes 2 – 26 and men’s sizes 38 – 44. There is also a separate knit lab with industrial overlock machines, 2 industrial coverstitch machines and a professional embroidery machine.

The department also houses an updated textile lab used primarily by students in the textile evaluation course, allowing them to use testing equipment in a manner similar to a commercial testing laboratory. Class projects follow testing standards set by AATCC and ASTM.

The textile lab has the following equipment: Heat oven, Twist tester, Spectrophotometer, Abrasion testers, Mullen burst tester, flammability tester, crocking/perspiration testers, constant humidity room, wear/spray testers, light box, tear/strength testers. The research lab holds a NX-16 Body scanner which is networked to computers in the classrooms.

Annual programmatic assessment of student learning demonstrates that students have appropriate knowledge, skills, and competencies in their chosen discipline.

Course updates:

FTT 208 Fashion Technologies

Introduction to and multi-disciplinary hands-on experience with a variety of software programs used in the fashion industry.

This core course has been updated to include the most recent off-the-shelf software used in the textile/apparel industry and introduces fashion design for different target markets. This update addresses the change and advancements in technology in the industry.

FTT 310 Sewn Product Industry

This course provides overview of organization and government regulations of fashion business selection of raw materials; designing and pattern development; sizing and evaluation of fit; manufacturing process, quality specifications and relationship between cost and quality.

This revision updated course content based on department’s goals. The revision reflects current industry practices in the apparel manufacturing segment of the fashion industry.

FTT 358 Fashion Forecasting

Study of national and international designers; consumer segmentation and adoption process; analysis of current trends in apparel in order to forecast for specific markets; story board presentation. Hands-on experience with off-the-shelf software programs used in fashion industry for concept/trend board development and forecasting presentation. Required for all students.

This revision updated course content based on department’s goals. The revision reflects current industry practices in trend analysis and fashion forecasting. The current course revision will eliminate consumer research content as this is covered in other core courses. Hence, a new course title is given as Fashion Forecasting.

FTT 365 Fashion Digital Retailing

The scope and status of fashion digital retailing; advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional retailing; digital retailing infrastructure; strategies used by small and large apparel brands and retailers; digital marketing concepts and practices; ethical, social and political issues; and key trends in fashion digital retailing.

Course addition was required to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills in the area of fashion digital retailing.  In recent years digital retailing platforms have become an integral part of doing business in the fashion industry. Learning outcomes include knowledge of digital retailing, building a digital retail space, online marketing and social ethical and political issues.

FTT 450 Global Issues in Fashion/Textile Industry

This course provides an overview of global issues facing the textile and apparel industry; differing methods of organization and their inherent structural characteristics; domestic and global perspectives of the industry related to textile and apparel firms. Contemporary issues in the textile and apparel industry will be discussed including: governmental controls, global trade policies, sustainability, and labor issues. Writing, critical thinking, and information management skills are employed in this course. Offered annually every fall and spring semester.

Given the changing nature of this industry, it is important to update the curriculum to match the current direction of our discipline and better align the learning outcomes for this course with the department’s goals. Additional learning outcomes include sustainability issues including environment, human rights, fair trade, consumption and disposal.

As a Land Grant University, UGA’s Charter requires Industry outreach and our Textile Merchandising & Interiors Department in the College of Family & Consumer Sciences actively engages Industry in our curriculum and activities.

We work closely with the Georgia Soft Goods Education Foundation Board of Trustees as our Industry Advisory Council and actively participate with the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the International Association of Clothing Designers and Executives, National Retail Federation and many other Industry groups to keep our finger on the pulse of the Fashion Industry.

Under the mantra, Fashion is our Passion; our Fashion Merchandising program is unique in its reach across the entire spectrum of the Globally Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain.  Utilizing a faculty of widely renowned Professors and Instructors our program stays current with both research and industry developments.

Beginning with Textile Science offering courses and research in new fiber development as a member of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of American initiative.  They also provide training in the latest textile testing methods and procedures, which is often overlooked, and much needed in the Fashion Industry.

Product Design & Development addresses creativity in styling both fabrics and finished products utilizing the latest technology in Computer Assisted Design to provide students with real world experience including pattern and marker making. Manufacturing, Sourcing & Sustainable Supply Chain Management occur in Business Simulation so that students can practice leadership, teambuilding, and creative problem solving skills with actual business challenges

Fashion Merchandising begins with the basics of retail math and expands into how the Global Fashion Markets work. Social Media and Data Analytics are considered as major influencers in fashion Merchandising.

Interiors provides instruction in how to best utilize retail space for visual merchandising and to maximize the Customer’s retail experience.

Fashion History provides a historical perspective of the Fashion Industry ranging from International Cultures through the ages to more recent developments in Hip-Hop Fashion. This is supplemented with our Fashion Historical Collection of 3000 pieces dating back to the 18^th century, which is used as an instructional aid in many classrooms.

We supplement our program by requiring students to practice oral & visual presentations. Students also participate in Internships and Study Away programs reaching across the globe. Graduates from the UGA Fashion Merchandising program boast some of the highest scores in Fashion Scholarship and National Retail Federation Competitions. They are in high demand and provide their employers with a Competitive Advantage in the market.

Please contact Greg Vessels, GSGEF Distinguished Professor for more information.