Abstract:

Today, we are witnessing the adoption of a European twin strategy that will strengthen competitiveness and create new values at the intersection of digital technologies and sustainability (EC, 2020). Europe recognize the combination of sustainability and digital technologies as the key to igniting future expansion in different sectors, on the international scenario.

In this context, the material dimension is returning to play a leading role as a vector of innovation driving a positive change (Lee at al., 2020).

Especially in the fashion design field, in the era of new materials revolution, sustainable materials are a fertile ground for experimentation. Companies are advancing on new and ecological improvements for the production of materials with hyper sustainable features supported by the digital medium. Nowadays, the choice for innovative textile solutions, is characterized by growing investment, radical experimentation, and firm commitment to sustainability (The State of Fashion, 2020).

This shifting mood also permeates Academia which has been contaminated, through a continuous flow of interactions and dialogue with industry, as proved by the thriving of multidisciplinary openness environments to face increasingly changing academic and professional contexts (Bertola and Vandi, 2020).

New models that strategically view the system in which they operate as the union of different parts are thriving (Gomez-Gaquet et al., 2016). No disconnection among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and industry but an open system which enhance innovations concerning transmitting knowledge, new technologies, and cross-fertilization among different sectors.

This is a moment of transition which can foster opportunity to accelerate a process of sustainable conversion able to face the transformative challenges that are nurturing the debate on the future of HEIs (Moja, 2008; Sterling, 2011; Fletcher and Williams, 2013).

Trough the analysis of selected case studies, this paper will investigate how these materials innovations are implementing collaborations between academia and industry for an exchange of knowledge and practices that bring a common advantage encouraging a shift toward a sustainable paradigm.

Keywords:

Fashion design education, materials, sustainability, industrial transformation, collaboration, innovation systems.