New study identifies the competencies needed for regenerative fashion entrepreneurs

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.


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.

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.

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.
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.

The experts of Fashion Research & Technology.
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.
