De Montfort Academic (DMU) in Leicester, UK, has established the Fashion and Textiles Business Hub to assist fashion and textile enterprises in understanding how academic knowledge can help them innovate and expand. The university’s new website highlights its expertise in textile testing, sustainable fashion, and digital design.
Businesses may arrange a customised tour of the faculty’s industry-standard facilities, meet technicians with extensive industry expertise, and speak with professors at the forefront of textiles research through the Hub. Visitors are also urged to arrange a 1:1 discovery session to determine which service would best meet their company’s innovation goals, according to the DMU’s website.
A series of fashion-themed events and seminars for businesses have been planned in collaboration with partners such as UK Fashion and Textiles, Curve Theatre, and the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers.
Gillian Proctor, associate professor and enterprise lead for the faculty, stated, “We have a wealth of industry experience here at DMU that we are eager to share with companies.” Textile and clothing firms face significant problems due to net zero emissions requirements, supply chains, the need to decrease raw material extraction, and lowering the number of waste transported to trash.
“Responsible sourcing, adoption of new technologies, and how to produce fibres from non-harmful materials, greenwashing, new product design—we’re here to help, whether through innovation projects, consulting, or working with our students.”
Businesses can also learn to collaborate more closely with DMU students by posing difficulties during their studies. DMU has collaborated with firms such as Gymshark, Lounge, and Moda, who visit campus to meet students and set live briefs as part of their evaluations.
