The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) announced the official open of the Concept 2 Consumer Student Design & Merchandising Competition for the 2025-2026 academic year in October 2025. University and college students from all over the globe are invited to participate by designing and merchandising their own unique lines of textiles. This competition provides students in textile programs worldwide with professional development opportunities, academic resources, and industry-focused knowledge and skill building exercises.
Interested in the C2C Design and Merchandising Student Competition?Visit https://www.aatcc.org/c2ccompetition/
The 2026 theme, Multipurpose Performance, challenges students to design a line of textiles focused on a dynamic end-user experience. Students must pick at least two end use cases, such as hiking, going to the office or gym, lounging, winter performance, and many more. Students, as individuals or in teams of up to three, are asked to create and market a textile line that can perform in all their selected conditions. These textile lines are recommended to focus on apparel but are not limited to it; students are encouraged to design creatively. The submitted line is evaluated by a panel of industry experts in the spring of 2026, who select the top three designs of the year. All top three places are awarded cash prizes, professional tools, and a year of free AATCC Student Membership to further their textile career development.
Interested in using this competition as course material? Contact Josie Cranfill (josie@aatcc.org) for more information.
AATCC thanks 2026 Sponsor Archroma for their generous support of this competition and their continued commitment to textile student education. The 2026 Competition is still accepting sponsorships and invites industry partners who wish to further their commitment to innovation, education, and the future of the industry. AATCC is proud to support curricula for faculty members and textile programs internationally through the C2C Student Design & Merchandising Competition.
Source: AATCC