Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino and Ticinomoda launch the Fashion Competence Center in Lugano, a new strategic platform for circular innovation in fashion

Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino, in collaboration with Ticinomoda, announces the launch in Lugano of the Fashion Competence Center, a new project dedicated to applied research, technological innovation and sustainability for the fashion and textile sector.

The initiative forms part of the path already embarked upon by the Innovation Park in the field of technologies applied to sustainability and advanced industry, further strengthening Ticino’s positioning as an international platform for expertise and innovation in the fashion sector.

Ticinomoda has been exploring the theme of circularity in fashion since early 2022, first through a study carried out by SUPSI, then via a working group launched in 2024, where companies discussed and compared their actual needs, priority research areas and the possibilities for creating a structured platform of expertise. This led to the proposal on which this collaboration is based.

The project has also come about through a combination of public and private investment, developed on an equal footing, confirming the shared desire to build an industrial, technological and scientific initiative with solid economic and strategic benefits for our region.

The Fashion Competence Centre will aim to support businesses in their transition towards more circular and efficient production models that comply with new international regulations on the environment and product traceability.

Through advanced expertise in eco-design, life-cycle analysis (LCA), artificial intelligence, advanced material recognition and research into robotic disassembly, the Centre will link the design phase to concrete possibilities for the recovery, reuse and recycling of textile products.

The project will offer Ticinomoda member companies a neutral, pre-competitive environment in which to develop, validate and test innovative solutions, accelerating the sustainable transformation of the entire fashion supply chain and reducing the risks associated with future regulatory compliance.

A central element of the project will be the strong integration between industry, applied research and academic expertise. In this context, SUPSI, and in particular the Department of Innovative Technologies, will play a strategic role, contributing to the development of research, technology transfer and industrial innovation activities linked to new production processes and enabling technologies for circular fashion.

With this new project, Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino and Ticinomoda are consolidating the role of Lugano and Ticino as an advanced laboratory for innovation, sustainability and industrial competitiveness for the global fashion sector.

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For questions or further information, please refer to:
– Ticinomoda General Meeting on 19 May 2026, LAC Lugano at 4.30 pm
– SIP TI General Meeting on 8 June 2026, Bellinzona at 11.00