This site is devoted to cotton-related information, ranging from marketing and retailing to yarn and textile engineering. The fashion forecasting provided by Cotton Inc. is particularly useful to teachers and students of fashion.
http://fabriclink.com
The self-described “educational resource for fabrics, apparel, home furnishings, and care” is useful for both consumer needs (contains a guide for stain removal), apparel design students (includes career/education links, a textile dictionary, and online forum), and industry experts (provides trade show press releases).
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/subjects/textiles
The Encyclopedia Smithsonian provides links relating to the care and storage of antique home textiles, including tapestry, rugs, costumes, and Victorian silk quilts and throws. Beyond fabric care, the Smithsonian features links to information regarding the museum's holdings of textiles of Madagascar and the North American Southwest, as well as images from the museum's collection of quilts, counterpanes, and throws.
Fashion History and Design
http://www.behind-the-seams.com
Sponsored by SPESA, Sewn Products Equipment and Suppliers of the Americas, Behind the Seams targets an international audience. Covers global conferences and events, industry-wide news, and reports information for and about suppliers.
http://www.ecotextile.com
Provides international eco-news affecting, or generated within, the fashion industry. Ethical sourcing, environmentally-friendly fiber production, and ethical animal treatment are among the topics of interest to industry experts and academics. The pieces relating to the student competitions to create eco-friendly designs may be particularly appealing to fashion design students.
http://fashion.about.com/od/fashiondesigners/Fashion_Designers.htm
Or visit about.com: Women's Fashion: Fashion Designers
Clicking the link “Designers A-Z” reveals a biographical blurb for 75 designers and links to industry Web sites. Links to fashion employers, job descriptions, articles, and photo galleries are a highlight of this site.
http://www.fashion.net
Launched in 1995 by the Fashion Industry Network, this site serves both consumers and industry insiders. Detailed tips are offered for attaining industry jobs, including fashion photography, modeling, design, and styling. Another feature for job-seekers – a bulletin board of fashion job listings that link to contact e-mail addresses. A visual treat, the site is glittered with cutting-edge fashion images, and links to trendy retailers and hip fashion mags.
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
Over a decade old, this blog was envisaged as a tool to highlight the fashion choices of everyday people. The creator is a photographer with a background in fashion sales and marketing. The Sartorialist has attracted the attention of major fashion magazines and designers, offering a view of the creativity people use when developing personal style.
http://www.showstudio.com
An experiment in the art of movement, featuring Web cameras and phone video. Fashion is integral to the vision of site contributors, including hip fashion photographer, Nick Knight, musical artist, Björk, and supermodel, Naomi Campbell.
Textile Science and Design
http://tc2.com
A non-profit organization, [TC]² assists companies in the assessment and development of systems that move sewn products and soft goods more efficiently through the processes of creation and into consumers’ closets. [TC]² edits this cycle by evaluating and altering the movement of goods through the supply chain. Provides related site links and information about textile technology.
http://www.textileinstitute.org
The Textile Institute site contains a virtual library of links relating to technology, academia, fabric, trimmings, equipment, and supplies.
http://textilesource.com
The design of this site is less sophisticated than TextileWeb, however Textile Source does provide a user-friendly database of textile companies. To find the best suppliers, visitors can select the end use, product/service, yardage desired, type of fiber, preferred location of vendor, and enter keywords.
http://www.textileweb.com
Primarily for textile industry professionals, TextileWeb is a comprehensive resource covering general information and jobs, while providing articles, market research reports, downloadable materials (including software), vendor data, buyer’s guides, shopping, an event calendar, and online discussion forums. Visitors can also sign up for free trade publications, including Process Cleaning Magazine (bimonthly), Modern Plastics Worldwide and Industrial Market Trends (a biweekly e-newsletter).
Digital Collections
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections http://content.lib.washington.edu/costumehistweb/index.html
Online since 2002, this digital collection, available through the University of Washington Libraries, contains over 400 fashion plates (from Godey's Lady's Book, Le Follet, and others) dating from the early 19th century through the Edwardian era. The database of fashion plates is era and keyword-searchable.