Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith is a New Zealand design academic, and is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology, specialising in textile design, printed textiles, and seamless knitwear. She previously worked as a knitwear designer in Japan and New Zealand. Smith is head of AUT's School of Design, and founded the Textile and Design Laboratory.

Academic career

Smith completed a Bachelor of Fashion Design with Honours at the University of Gloucestershire, followed by a Master of Design, Knitwear and Knitted Textiles at Nottingham Trent University in 1989. Smith then spent seven years working as Head Designer for Takanashi Design Jimusho in Tokyo, before moving to New Zealand to lead Tapestry Knitwear in Auckland in 2000. She joined the faculty of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in 2002, where she was head of the Department of Fashion and Textile Design. As of 2024 she is Head of the School of Design at AUT. She lives on Waiheke Island and enjoys shopping for clothes at recycling shops. Smith cites Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo as her favourite designers.

Smith's research focuses on the interface of craft and technology, and she is interested in smart textiles, knitted textiles, and seamless knitwear. She is the founder of AUT's Textile and Design Laboratory.

Selected works

Amanda Smith. Section 2. Textiles Materials and Processes. Disrupting digital making for seamless knit design, in