Visible mending has grown from a niche hobby into a mainstream movement, inspiring designer catwalks, high-street repair workshops, and a thriving community of crafters using embroidery, patches, and traditional stitching techniques to celebrate clothing repairs rather than hide them.
In second-hand shops across regions, finding a jumper with a hole no longer deters shoppers. Alice Brown, a 27-year-old forest ranger from Lincolnshire, views clothing imperfections as challenge,
according to reporting on the trend. Over the past year, she has built an online following by needle-felting cute animals and insects over moth holes and stains. The natural place for decoration is in the centre at the front. If the hole is under the arm or on the shoulder, it forces you to think about the design,
she says.
Workshops and Traditional Japanese Stitching Techniques in Brighton
What started among independent crafters has expanded into community classes and retail workshops. At a Saturday morning workshop in Brighton, instructor Jayne Eagle teaches students how to place fabric patches behind tears so cat-face designs peek through the openings. Her curriculum draws heavily on traditional Japanese methods such as Boro and Sashiko, encouraging crafters to use large white geometric stitching and vibrant contrasting threads that celebrate repairs rather than disguise them.
Retailers and In-House Repair Services
Major clothing brands and high-street chains have embraced the movement through workshops, in-house repair teams, and ready-to-buy patched collections. Uniqlo offers decorative mending using Sashiko techniques to honor its Japanese heritage. We want to give customers practical ways to extend the life of the clothes they already love, rather than simply replacing them,
says Maria Ledous, the brand’s head of sustainability. Primark longevity lead Vicki Swain states that affordability and durability should not be opposites, while outdoor brand Finisterre reports that around a fifth of the mends it provides for customers are designed to be eye-catching.
High-end artisan retailer Toast employs a team of 14 in-house repair artists
who provide free creative mending services. Chief executive Suzie de Rohan Willner notes that part of the magic involves customers bringing in garments to choose what they’d like it to become next.
While Toast offers free repairs, its off-the-peg renewed garments command higher prices than original pieces to reflect their unique character. Meanwhile, ultra-fast-fashion firm Shein and designer label Ralph Lauren also sell stitched and patched garments straight off the rack.
Gen Z Perceptions and Levi’s Workshop Programs in London
Levi’s has introduced workshop programs responding to research showing younger shoppers want to repair garments but lack the necessary skills. At a recent launch event in London, however, Gen Z participants favored traditional functional fixes over decorative art. Sixteen-year-old school student Bianca explained the social stigma surrounding visible damage, noting, I’m from East London. If you have holes in your clothes people are like ‘Ha ha! You’re poor!’
Attendee Nicholas added that he prefers repairs to remain hidden so jeans maintain their original look, while fellow participant Theo mentioned utilizing traditional skills to boost the value of garments he sells at car boot sales. Despite initial hesitation regarding visible wear, Paul Dillinger, Levi’s head of global design innovation, believes creative repairs will gain traction as consumers acquire more skills. No-one has time for that perfect ‘straight from the shop’ thing. That’s not cool,
Dillinger says, adding, Mending is a demonstration of humanity: it’s not a mustard stain, it’s a memory of a great day in the ballpark.