Textile/Surface Design

To create a great surface, go deep. This hands-on program nurtures the imagination, teaches the skills, and cultivates the insights needed to design textiles and other products for fashion and home. The curriculum blends conceptual and technological skills, so you’ll study drawing, painting, weaving, and screen printing along with CAD.

You’ll gain an understanding of fabric construction, manufacturing, and the importance of sustainability in the industry. You’ll learn to create print and woven designs for apparel, bedding, wallpaper, carpets, and more, and graduate prepared for a wide range of opportunities in this multifaceted field.

college student working with textiles at FIT

In the AAS program, you’ll build a strong technical and conceptual foundation in color theory, drawing, painting, screen printing, weaving, and computer-aided design as well as textile history. You will create patterns and fabric collections for use in apparel and home furnishings. Once you earn your degree, you'll be eligible to apply to the BFA programs Textile/Surface Design, Fabric Styling, Fine Art, or Illustration.

Degree Details

Integrating traditional drawing and painting techniques with digital design, weaving, and screen printing, this hands-on program encourages you to develop your own creative vision, and explore specialized design areas, such as carpets, knit design, jacquard fabrics, paper products, and dishware. A required internship will give you the experience necessary to launch a successful career upon graduation.

If you have an AAS in Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, or Textile/Surface Design from FIT, you may apply. Learn more about eligibility for this program.

Degree Details

Our students learn to design and develop fabrics for fashion, accessories, and interiors, including products for home markets.

Graduating seniors use painting, screen printing, weaving, and digital skills to display what they’ve learned, as in this work by Jeanne Schrem, which uses a variety of materials.

Elena Kanagy-Loux ’15, founder of the Brooklyn Lace Guild, was commissioned to create a handcrafted lace collar for Ruth Bader Ginsburg when the late Supreme Court justice was celebrating her 25th anniversary on the nation’s highest court.

Nina Policano created a recycled rug for FIT’s Crafting Change exhibition. The rug is made of small and stained scraps that form a pattern similar to that of a traditional Persian rug.

As part of her freelance work, Michelle Moore ’16, creates her surfaces with watercolors, mixed media, or an iPad.

Surface appearance matters … Everywhere you look, products weave together a variety of concepts to create powerful responses.

There’s an emotional side to textiles—the things we respond to in a fabric.

Dorothy CosonasTextile/Surface Design ’85

Students have interned at Polo Ralph Lauren, Art & Eden, Schumacher, Carnegie Fabrics, Flavor Paper, CHF Industries, and Anna Sui. Graduates have worked at Anne Klein, Lectra/CDI, Ralph Lauren Corp., Kohl’s, Lee Joffa, Knoll, and Victoria’s Secret. Roles include textile designers for print, woven, or knit apparel; home furnishings or hospitality markets; and decorative designers for the home, including bedding, bath and kitchen, carpet, and wallpaper.

Beyond Graduation

textile surface design college student painting

Our faculty of working professionals and gifted teachers brings industry expertise to the classroom. Meet more Textile/Surface Design faculty.

Nomi Kleinman

Kleinman specializes in textile design and weaving. She is an associate professor and chair of the Textile/Surface Design Department at FIT. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Susanne Goetz

Goetz was a textile designer in Germany, Thailand, and the U.K., and is now an associate professor in FIT’s Textile/Surface Design Department. She holds a BA in textile design from Hof University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and an MSc in textile and apparel technology management from North Carolina State University.

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