School of Fashion and Textiles Deep-Dive: From a 1957 Textile Department to the Third Flagship School

Module: 01 Academics · Sub-file: School of Fashion and Textiles Deep-Dive This dossier focuses on PolyU's School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT): its roots trace back to the Department of Textile Industries established in 1957, through decades of operation as the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) from 1977, culminating in its upgrade to PolyU's third independent flagship school in 2022 (the first two being the School of Design and the School of Hotel and Tourism Management). For the School of Design, see design-school.md; for SHTM, see hotel-tourism-school.md. Information is drawn primarily from PolyU press releases, the official SFT history, and PolyU publications; dates and phrasing follow official sources.

# I. Overview at a Glance

# II. 1957: Textile Education, as Old as Hung Hom

The source of SFT is the Department of Textile Industries, established in 1957 under its parent body, the Hong Kong Technical College. This date is significant—1957 was the very year PolyU moved to its current site in Hung Hom (see 00 Overview · History). In other words, textile education has been part of the institution's disciplinary map almost from the moment it settled in Hung Hom.

In the 1950s, Hong Kong's textile and garment industry was rising as a pillar of the economy. The Hong Kong Technical College's establishment of a Department of Textile Industries was a textbook example of its "aligned with Hong Kong's industrial manpower needs" ethos: Hong Kong needed textile technicians, so the Technical College set up a textile department. Much like the hospitality (later SHTM) and design programmes of the same period, this is a manifestation of PolyU's applied-education DNA.

Source strength: The 1957 Department of Textile Industries is documented in the SFT Official History; the synchrony with the move to Hung Hom is from PolyU's institutional history.

# III. The ITC Era: Decades as the Institute of Textiles and Clothing

In 1977, the Department of Textile Industries was renamed the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC). For the next several decades, ITC served as the vehicle for PolyU's textile and fashion education and research, earning a strong reputation in textile education both in Asia and globally.

Characteristics of the ITC era include: the ITC name was in use for over forty years, from 1977 to 2022, producing generations of talent for the textiles, garment, and fashion sectors; degrees held by ITC-era graduates were awarded by PolyU (or its predecessor), and while the name changed with the upgrade to SFT, the academic tradition continued; in research, it accumulated an international reputation in fields like functional textiles and textile technology.

Source strength: The 1977 renaming to ITC and its long operational history are documented in the SFT Official History and PolyU press releases.

# IV. 2022: Upgraded to the Third Flagship Independent School

According to a PolyU press release (September 2022)^※, in 2022—marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region—PolyU formally upgraded ITC, establishing the School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT), making it the University's third flagship and independent school. The opening ceremony was held on 2 September 2022 at the Jockey Club Innovation Tower.

The "third independent school" positioning is key: within PolyU's structure, the vast majority of academic departments belong to a Faculty; however, the School of Design, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, and School of Fashion and Textiles are three independent Schools that operate in parallel with the Faculties—each enjoying a higher degree of autonomy. SFT's elevation to this tier signals the high strategic importance PolyU places on fashion and textile disciplines.

SFT's opening ceremony was held at the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, designed by Zaha Hadid—a building that also serves as the home of the School of Design (see 05 Campus · Jockey Club Innovation Tower). The choice to launch a fashion and textiles school inside this design landmark itself sends a signal: "fashion = a branch of design."

Source strength: The 2022 upgrade, status as third flagship independent school, and opening ceremony (2 Sept 2022, Innovation Tower) are all from the PolyU press release.

# V. Research Landscape: From "Cloth" to "Smart Textiles"

SFT's research has long since transcended the traditional confines of "textiles and clothing manufacturing." According to the PolyU press release^※, its academic and research directions encompass:

Directions such as "smart textiles," "medical textiles," and "sustainable fashion" bring traditional textiles into intersection with cutting-edge fields including electronics, health, environmental science, and digital technology. This aligns seamlessly with PolyU's broader applied-research orientation (e.g., advanced textiles have previously won TechConnect Innovation Awards； see 04 Research · State Key Laboratories).

Source strength: The list of research directions is from the PolyU press release.

# VI. Targeting the Greater Bay Area's Fashion Industry

According to the PolyU press release, SFT's establishment explicitly targets opportunities in the Greater Bay Area's (GBA) fashion industry—cultivating innovative and creative fashion talent to seize the opportunities presented by the upgrading of the GBA's fashion and manufacturing sectors.

The logic behind this positioning is clear: the Greater Bay Area (especially cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dongguan) is both a globally significant manufacturing base for textiles and garments and is moving up the value chain towards "design + brand + technology." With Hong Kong serving as a fashion and design hub, PolyU's SFT is well placed to play a role in the synergy of "Hong Kong creativity / R&D + GBA manufacturing / market" (echoing themes in 09 Internationalisation · Greater Bay Area).

# VII. Placing SFT within PolyU's Disciplinary Map

SFT, together with the School of Design and SHTM, forms PolyU's cluster of "applied + creative" flagship schools: the School of Design—diverse design fields including product, interaction, visual communication, and social innovation; SHTM—hotel, tourism, and hospitality management (with its teaching hotel, Hotel ICON); SFT—fashion and textiles (creativity + textile technology).

All three share the traits of independent flagship School status, international reputation + industry alignment + applied education. SFT's independence (2022) represents the latest step in PolyU's ongoing effort to strengthen its "creativity + application" brand.

# VIII. SFT, School of Design, and SHTM: Convergences and Divergences Among the Three Independent Schools

Situating SFT within the framework of the "three independent flagship schools" reveals several shared patterns, as well as what makes it unique. Convergences: All three followed a multi-stage upgrade path from "Department → long-lived intermediate form → independent School" (Design: Department → Swire School of Design → School of Design; Hotel and Tourism: Department → School → independent; Textiles: Department → ITC → SFT). For all three, the moment of independence came decades after their disciplinary origins. And all three use a combination of "international reputation + physical landmark/facility" as their public face (Design has the Innovation Tower; Hotel and Tourism has Hotel ICON). Divergences: SFT is the only one of the three without its own signature building—it borrowed the School of Design's Jockey Club Innovation Tower for its opening ceremony and lacks a dedicated architectural landmark comparable to Hotel ICON or the Innovation Tower. Readers should take careful note of this, to avoid assuming SFT possesses a corresponding iconic building. This also suggests, from another angle, that SFT's "flagship" status is embodied more in its disciplinary history (dating back to 1957, the earliest of the three) and industry alignment (GBA fashion manufacturing) than in architectural grandeur.