Textile Design

The specialization is an option within the curriculum of Fashion, Textile and Accessory Design.

High-level textile design education

The field of textile has deep cultural and economic meanings, encompassing knowledge and stories from different eras; tradition, and traditional techniques. In modern textile design both old skills and the latest developments in materials and technologies find creative application, which have brought revolutionary changes to the development and refining of textiles. New and exciting textile use often arises from the combination of forgotten skills with modern problem-solving and innovative technologies.

How does learning take place?

Over the course of three years, expertise is acquired about modern material culture, design theories, and methods; skills are developed for integrating them into the creative process. The education provides broad skills for developing ideas, technical knowledge for producing textiles, designing textile products, and developing them to be production-ready.

The curriculum includes theoretical and practical courses, both mandatory and elective. Small study groups ensure individual guidance and immediate feedback for the student throughout the learning process. In addition to specialized technologies, students also learn about the entire design process, from idea to finished product. Proficiency is also acquired in various necessary computer programs (including Adobe Creative Suite, Weave Point).

In addition to textile specialists, interior architects, visual artists, product designers, and fashion designers are involved in teaching and mentoring. Activities often take place in collaboration with other departments, universities, and companies. Collaborative projects provide designers with the necessary problem-solving skills, real-life work experience, and the opportunity to see their creations as actual products.

Future prospects

Graduates of the Textile Department have a wide range of career opportunities. With the acquired knowledge and skills, graduates can focus on personal creative practice in the design or art field, or work as textile designers in companies involved in fashion or interior textile design. Textile design graduates have also continued in doctoral studies, focusing on developing the field through research. Textile design alumni also work as stylists, accessory designers, product developers, display designers, illustrators, retail buyers, or apply their creative skills in other ways.

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Autor ja foto_ Emily Cai. Tööstuslik kudumine
Liina_Leo 2018. Foto Marleen Muhuste_
Katariina Kruus, Ann Müürsepp. Foto Gerda Nurk
Autor ja foto_ Arife Dila Demir.AURA, interactive light emitting textile installation, 2019

News and events

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Textiles 110: Open Lecture by Bart Hess “Future Bodies”

On May 30, at 3 p.m in EKA White House  The work of Bart Hess is of the most tactile and intuitive nature. Crossing boundaries between design, fashion and art, his oeuvre is a series of studies into materiality, (virtual) reality and technology. He is fascinated by the human body, which he tends to cloak in ways that have little to do with styling or fashion but more so with ...
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Textiles 110: Open Lecture by Päivi Vaarula “Material and Content, Working Together in textile Art”

Textiles 110: Open Lecture by Päivi Vaarula “Material and Content, Working Together in textile Art”   On April 29, at 5 p.m in room A501   Päivi Vaarula is a textile artist from Hämeenlinna, Finland. Her work is rooted in keen observation of everyday life, which she thoughtfully transforms into the visual language of textile art. Rather than seeking to entertain, she aims to create ...
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Textiles 110: Open Lecture by an Artist Duo EJTECH “Being Metamaterial”

On March 27 at 4:30 p.m in room A501 Formed by Judit Eszter Kárpáti and Esteban de la Torre,  EJTECH [ˈeɪtɛk’] is an polydisciplinary artist duo working with hyperphysical interfaces, programmable matter, and augmented textiles as media to investigate sensorial and conceptual relationships between subject and object, aiming to rediscover networks of emerging structures and immanent ...
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Textile 110 Open Lecture: Pirjo Kääriäinen

Pirjo Kääriäinen 19.02.2025 A-501 kell 16:30 Weaving textile design with material innovation Pirjo Kääriäinen is a material enthusiast and textile specialist, working as an Associate Professor in Design and Materialities at the Aalto University, Finland. She operates between research and practice, and she is involved in several material research projects focusing on bio-based ...
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Experimental Forms Exhibition “Foam Futures” at Viru Keskus

EKA Experimental Forms Exhibition "Foam Futures" at Viru Keskus "Foam Futures" is an experimental fashion forms exhibition by the fashion, textile, and accessory design students of the Estonian Academy of Arts. Under the guidance of fashion designer Liisi Eesmaa and artist Flo Kasearu, futuristic foam plastic characters have come to life and will take over the Viru Keskus Atrium ...
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Regenerated Cotton for Electronic Textiles-RETEX

The main objective of the RETEX MSCA SE project is to establish a world-class interdisciplinary network focused on a joint research program in the field of new sustainable electronic textile materials. This will be achieved by replacing conventional textile materials with sustainable, environmentally friendly, and advanced materials, such as recycled fiber-based cotton fabric. To accomplish ...
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EKA Textile 110: “Viridis (T)exitus / Green (T)exit”

Students of the Estonian Academy of Arts will open the exhibition of experimental printed fabrics “Viridis (T)exitus / Green (T)exit” at the Tallinn Botanical Garden Visitor Center on December 16 at 5:00 PM. 17.12.2024–30.01.2025 Kassandra Laur, Eleonor Tingas and Nikolai Keller, 3rd year students of the EKA Textile Design department, will present experimental textile works inspired by ...
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Krista Leesi and Tallinn’s Patron Saint at Draakon Gallery

You are welcome to the opening of Krista Leesi's exhibition In Spe. Saint Victor and the Four Dragons at Draakon gallery on Thursday, November 28, at 18.00. The exhibition will remain open until January 4, 2025.  The exhibition draws inspiration from the martyrdom of Saint Victor, as portrayed on the main altar of St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn. The altar, crafted in the workshop of Lübeck ...
  • The Design & Crafts programme provides students with plenty of freedom as well as responsibility. The flexibility of the programme encourages student to try different ways to materialise ideas and learn new techniques and methods beyond their specialisation. The variety of courses and workshops provide a versatile and multifaceted education, giving students a lot of control over their individual paths.
    Marie Vinter
    MA Design & Crafts (Textile Design) ‘17

Student Work

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6 Sohva1 Ilona Tell
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