Dr. Subashini J. Samuel is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Chennai, with 22 years of professional and academic experience in fashion education, design innovation, research, and industry practices. Her primary areas of expertise include Knitwear Design, Lingerie Design, Textiles and Apparel Design, fashion education, and sustainable fashion. She teaches undergraduate, postgraduate, and diploma-level students and contributes to curriculum development, student mentoring, design development, and industry-oriented academic activities. She holds a Ph.D. in Textiles and Apparel Design from Bharathiar University, with research focused on protective and infection-control clothing for cancer therapy patients using Zingiberaceae plant rhizome extracts. She also holds an M.Phil. in Textiles and Clothing, an M.Sc. in Textiles and Clothing, and a B.Sc. in Costume Design and Fashion.

Her research interests focus on medical textiles, protective clothing, antimicrobial and herbal finishes, comfortable clothing for cancer therapy patients, technical textiles, sustainable textile innovation, and human-centered design thinking. Her research contributions include studies on herbal finishes with antimicrobial and anticancer activity, comfortable textiles and clothing for cancer therapy patients, preferable fabrics during cancer therapy, and technical fibers in medical textiles. Her publications appeared in journals including the Journal of Chemical Health Risks, European Chemical Bulletin, and the Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences, while her work on technical fibers in medical textiles was published in an UGC CARE Group 1 journal. She also collaborates with academic and healthcare professionals in textile and medical-textile research. Her academic achievements include receiving recognition for her M.Sc. thesis and best poster presentation from the Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology. She regularly serves as a resource person and paper presenter at national and international conferences and seminars on sustainable textile innovation, medical textiles, fashion trends, styling, wearable technology, and textile and fashion education.

She serves as an advisor and coordinator for student activities and has contributed to initiatives promoting entrepreneurship among women through workshops in innovative pattern making and surface techniques. She also works as a textile retail consultant, fashion stylist, wardrobe consultant, fashion choreographer, and event manager, and designs wedding veils and luxury wedding gift baskets under her professional interests. She is interested in creative and performing arts, including short plays, stage shows, stand-up comedy, debate, and English oratory, and she has participated in trekking and parasailing activities.