Overview
Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) is a fashion-oriented institution distinguished by its love of country and unique approach to university administration. BIFT was formerly known as Beijing Textile Engineering Institute, which was established in 1959, renamed Beijing Institute of Chemical Fiber Engineering in 1961, and expanded to Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in 1987. It is the first public apparel institute in China. BIFT was brought under the administration of Beijing in 1998. In 2019, it made the switch from being a textile and apparel polytechnic to an art college. The institute was recognized as a prominent high-level institution in Beijing in 2020. It has more than 7,300 students enrolled in full-time undergraduate and graduate programs, including over 5,800 undergraduates and more than 1,400 students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees.
Motto
Following its motto “embrace with beauty and virtue, thrive in harmony and innovation”, BIFT prioritizes design in apparel. It excels in both theoretical research and practical application pertaining to apparel culture, heritage, innovation, new materials, high-performance apparel, product design, and digital media design. BIFT has established the fashion education concept of “highlighting Chinese beauty in the new era” and the “art-dominant, fashion-led, and art-engineering integrated” university management model, seeking to improve people’s lives via positive change.
Faculty
The faculty at BIFT comprises of teachers who are politically committed and professional, and possess high teaching ethics and exceptional teaching skills, and are dedicated to students’ academic success. Many of them have been recognized as Beijing Scholars, Beijing Strategic Science and Technology Talents, Beijing Renowned Teaching Professionals, Beijing Excellent Teachers, and so on, and have been included in the New Century Excellent Talents Program of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Outstanding Talents Development Project, Changcheng Scholars Training Program etc. Many of our lecturers and professors receive the State Council’s special allowance, and many lead national-level teaching teams, municipality-level innovation teams, national-level natural science fund projects, and national-level key technological R&D projects. We also have a host of top talents and scholars in textile and clothing materials, apparel, and fashion communication who have been listed among “China’s Top Ten Fashion Designers,” “China’s Top Ten Outstanding Youths in the Design Industry,” “China’s Jewelry Design Masters.” What’s more, Professor Jane Replay (former Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London and former President of Central Saint Martins) and Professor Frances Corner (former Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London and former Dean of London College of Fashion) have been invited to BIFT as guest professors. BIFT has become a mecca for the fashion industry’s elite.
Scientific Research
BIFT is well-equipped with high-level research facilities—it operates one R&D center under the Ministry of Education, three key laboratories, two engineering technology research centers, one technology transfer center, one philosophical and social science research base, and one Capital SCI & TEC Resources Platform.
It is a think tank as well—under the guidance of the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, BIFT has established the National R&D Center for Winter Sports Clothing and Equipment, the Research Center for Accessible Clothing, and the R&D Laboratory for Uniform Equipment for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics.
BIFT has always been at the frontiers of the apparel industry—it has taken the lead in establishing the Institute of Fashion Science and Technology, the Fashion Research Institute, the Chinese Lifestyle Design Research Institute, the Institute of Sports Fashion Innovation, the Institute of Apparel Culture, the Institute of Chinese Beauty in the New Era, and the Dunhuang Fashion Culture Research and Innovative Design Center, producing a number of scientific research results.
In recent years, BIFT’s lecturers have participated in over 1,200 national, ministerial (provincial-level), and other scientific research programs, 70 of which are programs under the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC) including NSSFC programs in single disciplines, key R&D programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology, programs under the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and programs under the China National Arts Fund (CNAF). Among the 70 programs, there is 1 CNAF major program in Art and 7 national key R&D programs. BIFT holds 478 authorized patents, 1 second-class prize for national scientific and technological progress, and more than 70 scientific research achievement awards (including artworks) at the ministerial (provincial) level or above.
The academic journal Art & Design Research sponsored by BIFT has been selected as a source journal by the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) since 2017. The Journal of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (Natural Science Edition) has remained on the General List of Chinese Core Journals (Peking University Edition) for years.
Social Service
BIFT employs its design, scientific, technological, organizational, and communication expertise to efficiently address the country’s most pressing needs. It took part in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in 2008, the public parade and processions commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China in 2009, the Summer Universiade in Shenzhen in 2011, the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing in 2014, the APEC Summit in 2014, the Rio Olympics in 2016, the large-scale exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up in 2018, the “Beijing 8 Minutes” at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the public parade and procession, militia procession, and gala activities for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China in 2019, the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and the Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics in 2022. It was also involved in relevant events that had special requirements for costume design, such as Shenzhou VII, IX, X, XI, and XIII spacesuit and cabin shoe design, the design and development of watches for the North and South Pole research team, and other important design innovation projects. The whole of society has recognized and lauded these accomplishments.
During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, BIFT offered comprehensive support in terms of design, technology, and volunteer services—it used its professional expertise to design costumes for 9 competition events, reducing China’s long-standing reliance on imported winter sports uniforms; BIFT also designed uniforms for torchbearers, Winter Olympic participants, and awarding ceremonial staff; it designed six landscape venues, including the National Alpine Ski Center, Big Air Shougang, and the headquarters of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee; it successfully designed the commemorative stamps of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Competition Venues . BIFT faculty members involved in the Winter Olympics projects were awarded the “Chinese Ice and Snow Scientist” title, the “2022 Capital Labor Medal,” and the “Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker” title in Beijing; multiple faculty members and students were honoured as “Outstanding Individual of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics.”
BIFT supports Beijing’s positioning as “Four Centers” (national political centre, cultural centre, international exchange centre, scientific and technological innovation centre) and the development of the apparel industry. By leveraging its position in the fashion industry, it is helping make Beijing a worldwide shopping destination and, together with the China Textile and Apparel Council, co-hosts China Fashion Week. It maintains strong ties with Beijing districts such as Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengyang, Tongzhou, Changping, and Miyun as well as relevant government departments, institutions, and businesses. BIFT is committed to advancing the integrated development of industries, universities, and research institutes, as well as the transformation of creative accomplishments, thereby empowering high-quality development with fashion. Serving the textile, apparel, and cultural and creative industries, BIFT has developed extensive strategic cooperation with industrial clusters in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong, and Liaoning Provinces, and established several industrial parks and university-enterprise R&D centers. BIFT inked a strategic framework agreement with Longhua District in Shenzhen to help foster the fashion culture in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. BIFT has established partnerships with organizations such as the Chinese Softball Association and the China Textile and Apparel Council, as well as businesses such as Anta, Dishang, and Aimer to integrate resources and collaborate on innovation. BIFT actively participates in rural revitalization and beautiful countryside projects, and the “Chinese Rural Workers’ Fashion Design and Good Life Fashion Project in the New Era” has received widespread acclaim.
International Exchanges and Cooperation
BIFT is dedicated to promoting the internationalization of education. BIFT has established cooperative relationships with approximately 60 internationally renowned institutions, including the University of the Arts London, and has received approval for the China Scholarship Council’s Excellent International Undergraduate Exchange Program, the Special Program for the Cultivation of Artistic Talents, and the National Program for the Development of Highly Qualified Universities for Publicly Financed Postgraduates. To better cultivate international talents, BIFT encourages international cooperation in the form of cooperative course development. BIFT actively participates in the activities hosted by the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institution (IFFTI) and International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design, and Media (CUMULUS). It co-hosts IFFTI’s annual meetings, initiates the International Jewelry College Association, and hosts prominent international events, exhibitions, and forums such as the International Young Design Competition (IYDC) and the Beijing International Jewelry Art Biennale. The Institute is thus having a growing international presence.
BIFT was ranked 11th in the Chinese Mainland in the QS World University Rankings for Art & Design 2022, and ranked 1st in China in the list of the Best Fashion Schools in the World 2022 released by the world-renowned business magazine CEOWORLD .
