About the Conference
About the Conference
The International Textile and Colour Conference 2027 (ITCC 2027) will take place from 16–18 June 2027 at Nexus, Leeds, bringing together leading researchers, industry experts, policymakers and innovators from across the global textile, fashion and colour sectors.
Building on the success of ITCC 2025 and Leeds’ long-standing strength in textile and colour science, ITCC 2027 will examine the transformation of textile, fashion and colour industries across global value chains. The conference will focus on how advances in materials science, manufacturing, digital technologies and design can support the development of more sustainable, high-performance and digitally enabled industries.
A central theme of ITCC 2027 is the relationship between technological innovation and responsible industrial transition. The conference will consider how emerging technologies, advanced materials and data-driven approaches can improve the resilience and efficiency of production networks, reduce environmental impacts and support competitive, future-oriented supply systems.
The programme will consider the complete lifecycle of textile and colour products, from fibre and material innovation through to design, manufacturing, use, recovery and regeneration. It will bring together perspectives from academia, industry and government, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to shared challenges in productivity, sustainability and innovation.
Across three days, the conference will explore six principal streams:
Technical Textiles: Engineering Materials for Health, Performance and Planet
Textile Transformations: From Waste Streams to High-Value Materials
Colour Futures: From Molecular to Digital Innovation
Colour Intelligence: Data, Chemistry and Visualisation
Designing Resilient, Circular and Intelligent Fashion Systems
Digital, Sustainable and Adaptive Fashion Manufacturing
Nexus
The conference continues Leeds’ international contribution to textile and colour innovation. ITCC 2027 builds on the success of the 2025 conference and the region’s established research strengths, further reinforcing Leeds’ position as a centre of excellence for textile innovation.
Nexus acts as a gateway to research and innovation at the University, providing a leading environment for collaboration and partnership, serving as a hub for the local innovation community as well as national and international organisations looking to innovate, be more productive and grow:
Nexus
Discovery Way
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 3AA
The building is a short distance from Leeds city centre, accessible by various means of transport.
LITAC
LITAC is a collaborative research institute bringing together multi-disciplinary academic expertise in design, technology, science, and engineering from across the campus to tackle some of industry's biggest challenges.
Founded in 2021, LITAC is the result of significant co-investment by The Clothworkers’ Company and the School of Design, University of Leeds.
The School of Design is an interdisciplinary School bringing together expertise from a range of design and technology specialisms. Creation and innovation are at the heart of both the teaching and research aims, and as a School, it develops new design ideas and provide solutions to issues faced in industry and society.
LITAC sits within the School of Design and has an expertise that is built on a history of nearly 150 years of research in textile technology and colour science, as it works together with industry, charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
