Europe Is Forcing the Fashion Industry to Change - and Amsterdam Is Taking Centre Stage
Research group
Fashion Research & Technology
The Fabric of Data: Exploring the Future of Fashion
Data is our material. It drapes, reacts, and remembers. Crafted with code and colored in computation, this is fashion reimagined in real time. We explore the evolving interplay between digital processes and material expression—where algorithms become design tools, garments become interfaces, and data becomes a new kind of fabric.
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News
Design the future of knitwear at the 3D Knit Summer School 2026
AMFI and Fashion Research & Technology at the IFFTI Conference 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City
AUAS will host the 20th Textile ETP Annual Conference in Amsterdam
Launch of the Textile Opportunity Space Fieldlab
Digital Product Passports in the Textile Industry: Implications and Opportunities
Start Care & Repair: working together to make clothes last longer
Projects in progress
Practical Skills for a Future-Proof Fashion Industry
In the spring of 2024, a new Erasmus project: AEQUALIS4TCLF will launch. In collaboration with industry partners, this research focuses on the (impending) shortage of practical skills needed for a future-proof, more digital European fashion and textile sector.
Training program for the circular industry
Fashion and textiles represent the second most polluting industry worldwide. Due to European regulations, the textile sector must become fully circular by 2050. As a result, the industry faces major challenges that require a fundamental and radical system transformation.
Design accelerates the transition to sustainable clothing
The textile sector is one of the world's largest polluters due to high water and energy consumption, large-scale CO2 emissions, and significant textile waste. In the research group ‘New Texeco,’ the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, ArtEZ, and Saxion join forces to improve this.
Industry Living Lab Workshop #3
Design the future of knitwear! Are you a professional, student, or educator with a passion for knitting who wants to explore innovative techniques? During the 3D Knit Summer School 2026, you’ll discover the possibilities of 3D WholeGarment knitting and collaborate on the future of textiles. Register by May 29!
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3D Knitting Machine Creates Fisherman’s Sweater
Hendrik is the sixth generation of a fishing family from Urk. He strives to fish sustainably but faces competition from industrial fisheries. HvA researchers Maaike Feitsma and Leslie Eisinger are working towards a more sustainable fashion industry and support Hendrik in his mission. Using a 3D knitting machine, they created a fisherman’s sweater featuring both traditional and computer-generated patterns, symbolizing Hendrik’s struggle and his Urk heritage.
Read more about the 3D Knit Robot Lab
Meet us
The experts of Fashion Research & Technology.
Prof. Dr. ir. Troy Nachtigall
Professor Fashion Research & Technology – Expert wearable technology, digital production techniques, data-driven design and innovation in fashion and textiles
Troy Nachtigall is a highly experienced Designer and Design Researcher who leads research at the intersection of fashion and technology. He actively seeks out strategic partnerships that will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the textile, clothing, fashion, and footwear industries. Troy is a core member of the Erasmus+ Fashion and Textile Transitions project and the New Textile Ecosystems (New Texeco) Research Community. His practical background in Design and ICT fuels his passion for exploring the data-material relationship through wearable items.
