Seventeen interdisciplinary teams, each consisting of five to seven students from the faculty's Bachelor's degree programmes taught in English and German, independently developed innovative product ideas, small collections or marketing concepts.
The teams, the majority of which received their project assignments from external topic providers, presented their final results to their project partners as well as to other students and staff members of the university. Each team had twelve minutes for the presentation. The event was moderated by steering committee member and professor at the faculty Dr. Mathias Muth. At the end of the day, an audience favorite was chosen.
The winner was the team led by project manager Sarah Sairung Klein. In close cooperation with their client, the Rotary Club Mönchgladbach Gero, and their steering committee supervisor Prof. Dr. Robert Groten, the group developed a functional winter coat-sleeping bag combination for homeless people. The product focuses on the needs of the wearer, who should be protected from wind and weather and the influence of strangers. In addition to a prototype that lays the groundwork for future production, the group produced an informative accompanying film and flyers.
But it wasn't just the winning team that delivered great projects. Under the catchword "upcycling," many teams created new products from old materials. Lea Lüpsen's team breathed new life into used and discarded sailcloth by producing furniture and lamps from the durable material. The project was initiated by the client "Cleen Sailing Initiative".
A textile interior design concept for the employee area was created for the new jeans production premises of "C&A Factory for Innovation in Textiles" in the Monforts quarter of Mönchengladbach.
"We at the faculty and our project partners are very enthusiastic about the creative ideas and well thought-out results of this year's teams," says Dean of the Faculty Prof. Dr. Lutz Vossebein. The head of the steering committee, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Zöll was also full of praise for the students: "The teams have delivered truly outstanding projects with the utmost commitment, despite the pandemic conditions, and have shown what the future of the textile industry has in store for us."
