In terms of higher education within fashion design, there are numerous educational offerings in Sweden. Preparatory education within for example pattern-making, fashion design, and portfolio work are offered by several institutions. When it comes to university degrees within the subject area, there are two main providers, namely Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm and The Swedish School of Textiles at the University of Borås. Out of the two, only the Swedish School of Textiles are authorised to offer MA as well as PhD education within the area of fashion design.
Borås, a city located in the western part of Sweden in close proximity to the country’s second largest city, Gothenburg, was traditionally the centre of one of Sweden’s main textile industry clusters. This means that there is a long tradition in dealing with textiles in general, and thereby also fashion, already in the era where Sweden more held the position of a country of production of textiles and garments. Traces of this can be found to this day, where the city has transformed to more being a centre for fashion logistics and e-commerce. Various actors, including the Swedish School of Textiles, focus on the development of textiles for the future, not least when it comes to so-called smart textiles, as well as on the increasingly important discussions on how to change the business model of today’s fashion scene to become more sustainable (Hermanson et al., 2018). Borås as a city is trying to establish itself as an alternative fashion centre in Sweden, creating a different niche from that found in Stockholm, the current given centre of the country’s creative industries in general. The focus on the major challenges of the fashion industry, through initiatives dealing both with the production side and environmental issues, as well as the more business- oriented part of business model changes, in combination with the strong focus and competence dealing with more technologically advanced applications of textiles and design knowledge makes Borås stand out as a location with good possibilities for fostering innovation within textiles and fashion (Hermansson et al., 2018).
The Swedish School of Textiles has roots all the way back to the 19th century, back
then set up as a school for weaving. Over the years, the educational offerings changed and expanded, and in the mid 20th century, Textilinstitutet (the Textiles Institute) was
formed. In the 1980’s, its operations became part of the University of Borås, and subsequently also changed names to the Swedish School of Textiles (Textilhögskolan). It is also around this time that the educational offerings in fashion design see the light of day (hb.se6).
Over time, this has expanded to also include MA programmes in both textiles and fashion design (2007), as well as the right to offer PhD education (2010), something that makes the school unique from a Swedish perspective in that it is the only higher education unit in the country with education at these higher levels. Over the years, the school’s position within the Swedish fashion scene has grown stronger and stronger, and reviews of its annual show at Stockholm Fashion Week are now featured on for example Vogue Runway, a power player within fashion press. Its strong position was further solidified in 2015 when the school received an honorary award at the Swedish Elle Gala, a major annual event within the Swedish fashion scene, with the motivation:
“Technical knowledge and great creativity is an explosive combination. Through transparency, communication and highly interesting students, the School has made Borås a centre point of Swedish fashion.”
(hb.se7, translation by author)
Apart from the more art-based educational offerings in textiles and fashion design, the School also offers education within textiles engineering and textile management, creating a multifaceted environment. This has also given rise to the initiative Smart Textiles, a profiled research area for future innovation and use of textile techniques (hb.se8). It further means that the school houses technical equipment of highest
standards, creating a laboratory like setting for the students to explore materials, techniques, and production ideas.
The Swedish School of Textiles has a strong environmental focus, something that also becomes evident in the courses offered its students, where sustainability is brought to the forefront as an important aspect of the design process and output. Its position on this topic was further strengthened in early 2018, when the Swedish government announced that the University of Borås, of which the school is a part, was given the task to establish a platform for “cooperation, collaboration and efforts for a sustainable development of the fashion and textile industries” (smarttextiles.se9).
The research at the Swedish School of Textiles has three main focus areas from which it springs: 1) design; 2) textile technology; and 3) textile management. As mentioned above, the school has been given a national responsibility for research within the field of textiles and fashion, something that entails both the more artistic perspective, as well as the development of the collaboration between science and art (hb.se10). The multidisciplinary format of the setting means that the research spans
from that of focusing on the further development of design as a phenomenon and how we view and interact with fashion, to the more industry-like links of for example design output, and production and distribution.
7https://www.hb.se/Textilhogskolan/Om-Textilhogskolan/Historia/ (accessed May 30, 2018)
8https://www.hb.se/Forskning/Forskningsportal/Forskargrupper/Smart-Textiles/ (accessed May 15, 2018) 9https://smarttextiles.se/en/textile-fashion-2030/ (accessed October 30, 2018)
Table 5.1
Major research projects, Swedish School of Textiles
Project Name Focus
ArcInTexETN
Examine the design of more sustainable ways of living and working through interdisciplinary research and education in the subjects of textile design and science, fashion, production and architecture.
Body and Space Investigate and develop new types of clothes and models for design, expression, and functionality
Re:textile Create a structure for circular flows in textiles for a more sustainable lifestyle through design development and the development of new business models.
Smart Textiles
Develop a driving and unifying force for the development of textiles with high knowledge content for intelligent and functional textiles through structured interaction between business-driven development projects and experimental research institutes, colleges, and universities.
SMDTex
Develop an interdisciplinary research and education programme within textile technology, textile design, textile chemistry and other areas, such as production, supply chain management, quality management, brand and fashion management, information systems, data mining, virtual reality and consumer studies
Through the project Body and Space, the researchers:
“[I]nvestigate and develop new types of clothes and models for design, expression, and functionality. Through experimental artistic design, the research examines fundamental ontological, logical and epistemological questions to deepen knowledge about clothing in relation to body and space for new perspectives on fashion design and new ways of thinking about wearing.”
(hb.se11)
This way of thinking and doing research is also something that is transferred to the BA and MA programmes in fashion design, as is further explained in Section 5.2 below.
Sustainability is prevalent in the research carried out at the Swedish School of Textiles. A good example of this is Smart Textiles, where researchers work with developing technologically advanced fabrics, to be used not only within fashion as we traditionally view it, but also within for example medicine. Re:textile is another good example of the same focus, where researchers from the design side as well as textile management work on the development of new design approaches, as well as new business models with the aim of creating a more sustainable way of textiles and fashion consumption through longer lifecycles of the products.
11https://www.hb.se/en/Research/Research-Portal/Research-areas/Textiles-and-fashion-Design/ (accessed November