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Fashion & Textiles Futures Center


Welcome to the Home of World Class Fashion Programs

If you aspire to change the world through fashion and textiles, to rethink centuries of normal, and wow employers with your ideas, you’re going to love it here. Our state-of-the-art Fashion & Textiles Futures Center, the premier center for fashion and textile programs, immerses students in experiences that mirror industry: the Futures Center provides a forward-looking, market-sensitive, dynamic and highly collaborative environment.

Ranked #3 in the United States and #7 in the world by Fashionista

A 360° View of the Supply Chain

Fashion isn’t just about pretty clothes and runways. It’s also about all of the people who make the fashion industry run, evolve and progress. It’s the suppliers, merchandisers, engineers, marketers and event planners – from concept to consumer and the marriage of fabric to frame. At the Fashion and Textiles Futures Center, you’ll find endless research opportunities, industry-sponsored projects and professors who know the biz.

A Legacy of Excellence

In short, we’ve long been known for our internationally recognized programs and industry partnerships. Just a few examples ...

1st

Originally founded as the Philadelphia Textile School in 1884, we were the first textile school in the United States.

#6

CEOWORLD Magazine ranked Thomas Jefferson University #6 in the top ten fashion programs in the United States in its Best Fashion Schools in the World list.

#3

The Business of Fashion Global Fashion Schools Rankings listed our graduate programs 3rd and our undergraduate programs 9th in the United States.

$70,000

In 2017, Vivien Cooper ’17, won the top national award from the YMA Scholarship Fund. That year, seven other Jefferson fashion students were awarded $5,000 as part of the competition, while this past year, 11 students, a record number, were recognized as part of this prestigious competition.

Work With Leaders

Industry Partners

  • Chemo Clothes
  • Epson
  • Isaac Mizrahi
  • Li & Fung
  • Lori Weitzner
  • Macy's
  • Nathan Sports
  • Nasa
  • PVH
  • QVC
  • Sunbury Textile Mills
  • Target
  • Under Armour
  • Unifi
  • Urban Outfitters
  • Verizon
  • Xcel Brands

"When designing senior collections, our students work across disciplines to incorporate digital printing, surface imaging, laser-cutting, screenprinting, 3D printing, wearable technology and custom fabrics into their designs." 
—Marcia Weiss, Director of the Center

Our Facility: A Futuristic, 14,000 Square Foot Creative Hub

Just as they always have, our students get industry-relevant experience from the moment they begin at Jefferson to the time they start their professional careers. Now, they get to study the entire supply chain in a new, innovative, and fashionable space.

  • Futures Center - First Floor
  • Futures Center - Ground Floor

    • Glass Display Cases

      Large glass display cases show off student work in a way that mimics the retail industry, while creating windows into sewing labs, CAD labs and design studios — so students can see what their peers are working on.

    • Collaborative Labs

      Flexible breakout rooms give students the space to develop ideas and check in with each other on the progress of their collaborative projects.

    • Flexible Workspace

      Fashion design studios are separated by storage lockers on wheels so they can be expanded for larger classes or multiple students teams working on the same project. All furniture, storage and some machinery are on wheels, repositionable to accommodate our students’ and faculty’s needs.

    Our Programs

    Let's get started on designing your future through any of the programs below:

    Fashion Design

    BS

    Fashion Merchandising & Management

    BS

    Textile Design

    BS

    Textile Product Science

    BS

    Fashion Design Technology

    MS

    Fashion Merchandising & Management

    MS

    Textile Design

    MS

    Global Textile Design

    MS/MSc

    Textile Engineering

    MS

    Textile Engineering & Sciences

    PhD

    In the Futures Center, our students benefit from world-class curricula, access to the latest technologies that support the creation of new knowledge, and increased opportunities to work with industry partners on real-world projects. 

    Marcia Weiss