Next generation textile designers. A research project to connect the textile-knitwear manufacturing system with future design talents and its impact on education

The textile-knitting industry has always been in connection and dialogue with a constellation of manufacturing realities that contribute season after season to the success of the fashion system but are little considered when young talents with design backgrounds enter the marketplace. The research project reported in this article combines the expertise in the textile-knitwear area of the research group knitdesign.polimi of Politecnico di Milano with the one in the communication field of Imagis Lab, aiming at investigating the mismatch between education and manufacturing companies and laying valid foundations for the creation of an effective ecosystem that can make them converge towards a common meeting point. The goal is to update the educational methods, tools and practices with a twofold aim: on the one hand, to introduce young talents to the manufacturing reality; on the other hand, to facilitate the inclusion in the company of the same talents and create space for them to grow as high-potential profiles. In the first part of the paper, we will present the research background and the methodology applied. In contrast, in the second part, the main evidences that emerged are highlighted and discussed, presented together with the research actions taken and the space opened for further investigations.