Textile product developer

A Textile Product Developer is a professional responsible for transforming textile designs into market-ready products. Working at the intersection of design, manufacturing, and marketing, they collaborate with designers, suppliers, and manufacturers to ensure that textile products meet aesthetic, functional, and quality standards. Textile Product Developers manage the product lifecycle from initial concept through production, balancing creativity with technical requirements to produce textiles that align with brand goals, customer needs, and market trends. Their work is essential for developing innovative textiles that are both visually appealing and functionally appropriate for their intended use, whether for apparel, home decor, or industrial applications.

Textile product developers typically do the following:

• Collaborate with designers to translate creative concepts into viable textile products.
• Source materials and work with suppliers to select fabrics, dyes, and finishes that meet design and performance requirements.
• Develop prototypes and samples to test the design, functionality, and quality of new textile products.
• Oversee production processes, ensuring that textiles are manufactured according to specifications and quality standards.
• Conduct fabric tests to assess durability, washability, and colorfastness, and ensure compliance with industry standards.
• Coordinate with manufacturers and supply chain partners to ensure timely and cost-effective production.
• Monitor trends in materials, sustainability, and textile technology to drive innovation in product development.
• Make adjustments to product designs or specifications based on feedback from testing and quality assessments.
• Prepare documentation and specifications for each product, including material requirements, colors, dimensions, and production methods.

The following job titles also refer to textile product developer:

print design development assistant
textile product specialist
textile product development engineer
textile business developer
technical application manager
fabric product development specialist
textile product engineer
textile and apparel product developer

Textile Product Developers typically work in design studios, corporate offices, or manufacturing facilities. Their role often involves both desk work, such as creating documentation and communicating with suppliers, and hands-on work with samples and prototypes. Travel may be required to visit suppliers, attend trade shows, or work with overseas manufacturers. While regular business hours are standard, deadlines and production schedules can sometimes require additional hours, especially during product launch cycles.

Most Textile Product Developers hold a bachelor’s degree in textile design, fashion design, textile engineering, or a related field. Knowledge of materials science, textile production processes, and quality control is crucial. Experience in fabric testing, supply chain management, and technical documentation is valuable, as are skills in CAD software and technical design. Many gain practical experience through internships or entry-level roles within textile or apparel companies, which helps them develop both industry knowledge and a strong portfolio. Staying current with textile innovations, sustainable practices, and consumer trends is essential for success in this evolving field.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Textile product developer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to textile product developer.

textile quality manager
textile chemist
textile designer
textile colourist
textile technologist

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of textile product developer.

• Health and safety in the textile industry: The requirements, rules and applications of health and safety measures in the textile industry.
• Textile marketing techniques: Creating, communicating and delivering value to customers of textile products and services.
• Nonwoven machine technology: Manufacturing of nonwoven fabrics according to specification. Development, manufacture, properties and evaluation of nonwoven fabrics.
• Portfolio management in textile manufacturing: The process of managing teams and projects in textile and clothing product development.
• Research and development in textiles: Development of new concepts through the use of scientific and other methods of applied research.
• Textile technologies: Textile technologies to design, manufacture and evaluate the properties of textiles.
• Braiding technology: Development, manufacturing requirements, properties and evaluation of braided fabrics.
• Properties of fabrics: The influence of chemical composition and molecular arrangement of yarn and fibre properties and fabric structure on the physical properties of textile fabrics; the different fibre types, their physical and chemical characteristics and different material characteristics; the materials used in different processes and the effect on materials as they are processed.
• Textile printing technology: Addition of colour partially, according to the designed pattern, onto textile based materials. Processes for adding coloured patterns onto textile materials using printing machines and techniques (rotary of flatbed screen printing or others, heat transfer, inkjet, etc.).
• Challenging issues in the textile industry: The efficiency aims and environmental issues posed by challenges in the textile industry.

These skills are necessary for the role of textile product developer.

• Distinguish accessories: Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• Use textile technique for hand-made products: Use textile technique to produce hand-made products, such as carpets, tapestry, embroidery, lace, silk screen printing, wearing apparel, etc.
• Design weft knitted fabrics: Developing structural and colour effects in weft-knitted fabrics by using the weft knitting technique.
• Develop specifications of technical textiles: Develop specifications for fibre-based technical products with functional performances.
• Measure yarn count: Be able to measure yarn length and mass to assess the fineness of roving, sliver and yarn in different measuring systems. Also able to convert into the various numbering system such as tex, Nm, Ne, denier, etc.
• Maintain work standards: Maintaining standards of work in order to improve and acquire new skills and work methods.
• Use textile finishing machine technologies: Use textile finishing machine technologies that enable the coating or laminating of fabrics.
• Distinguish fabrics: Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• Draw sketches to develop textile articles: Draw sketches to develop textiles or wearing apparel by hand. They create visualisations of the motives, patterns or products in order to be manufactured.
• Decorate textile articles: Decorate wearing apparels and made-up textile articles by hand or using machines. Decorate textile articles with ornaments, braided cords, golden yarns, soutaches, jewellery, and cristals.
• Design woven fabrics: Designing and developing structural and colour effects in woven fabrics by using the weaving technique.
• Design warp knit fabrics: Developing structural and colour effects in warp knitted fabrics by using the warp knitting technique.
• Draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares: Draw sketches to develop textiles or wearing apparel using softwares. They create visualisations of the motives, patterns or products in order to be manufactured.
• Conduct textile testing operations: Prepare for textile testing and evaluation, gather the test samples, conduct and record tests, validate data and present results.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of textile product developer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Knitting machine technology: Manufacturing technologies that use loop-forming techniques to convert yarns into fabrics in order to form knitted fabrics.
• Textile chemistry: Chemical processing of textiles such as the reactions of textiles to chemicals.
• Textile finishing technology: Processes used for changing the properties of textile materials. This includes operating, monitoring and maintaining textile finishing machines.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of textile product developer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Control textile process: Plan and monitor textile production to achieve control on behalf of quality, productivity and delivery time.
• Finish processing of man-made fibres: Complete the processing operation of man-made fibres and ensure that the product is made according to customer specification.
• Test physical properties of textiles: Evaluating the physical properties of textiles by using testing methods, normally in accordance with a standard; it includes fibre identification and trouble shooting.
• Develop textile colouring recipes: Develop recipes for dyeing and printing processes of textiles.
• Use warp knitting technologies: Use warp knitting machine technologies that enable the formation of fabrics. Able to set machines for warp knitting, colour and pattern for monitoring and controlling the warp knitting process on electronic automatic warp knitting machines equipped with multifunction microprocessor and software.
• Use weaving machine technologies: Operate machines that enable weaving processes turning threads into fabrics. Setup weaving machine programmes for the machine to produce fabrics with the adequate pattern, colour and fabric density.
• Use warp preparation technologies: Use warping, sizing, drawing-in and knotting technologies that enable the formation of warps.
• Manufacture braided products: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture braided products while keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
• Evaluate textile characteristics: Evaluate textiles and their properties in order to manufacture products in conformity with specifications.
• Check quality of products in textile production line: Check characteristics of textile products like yarns, woven, knitted, braided, tufted or nonwoven textiles, finished cloths, ready-make-garments and determine the product quality along different stages of the textiles or clothing production line.

2163 – Product and garment designers

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References

1. Textile product developer – ESCO
2. Featured image: Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash