Interview with Alicia Minnaard of Fixing Fashion
www.fixing.fashion
https://www.instagram.com/aliciaminnaard/
What is Fixing Fashion and how did this initiative come about? What are the intentions of Fixing Fashion?
Fixing Fashion Fixing Fashion is a global platform that aims to teach and share knowledge with users for free about the best and most efficient ways to care for, repair, and upgrade their clothing. We want to create a strong community of people who prolong the use of their clothes.
I joined One Army after my graduation and after some experiments, we thought clothing needed a platform like Precious Plastic. A platform where we show a different approach to clothing, with a collection that is not for sale, but that shows how you do it with the clothes you already have.
With this knowledge and platform, Fixing Fashion aims to empower people to create a global network of existing and new repairers and upgraders. Fixing Fashion will provide tools so people can freely exchange knowledge and learn as the community grows, giving repairers a platform to start a business, so more repairing and second-hand clothing trading occurs more often.
Fixing Fashion aims to have people learn the basic techniques of sewing, caring, repairing, and upgrading and wear their fixes proudly. To take ownership of their clothes and show the world that they did not want to add to the oversaturated waste stream. This way of seeing clothes diminishes the need for new production and denies the existence of waste. We have all that we need around us, we just have to use it.
On Fixing Fashion you differentiate between Care, Repair & Upgrade. What are the differences, and can you explain why these are important topics?
Many sustainable fashion efforts focus on the origin of garments. They promote solutions to be purchased, but this still has left a gap in methods for the conscious use and end of clothing ownership.
Only knowing about sustainable issues won't solve the problem. We must cooperate, act, and change the way we see clothes for the precious objects they are and normalize taking care of them.
Whenever you buy a garment that is created within a linear cycle and not in a circular cycle, companies give the consumer the responsibility to take care of the product. But how do you do that? We identify three phases:
Phase 1
Of course, you want to prevent your clothes from becoming worn down and tearing quickly. The first thing you need to know is how to maintain your clothes and properly wash them. So, loving and caring for your garments, whether it is from a fast fashion brand or a high-end brand, is phase 1.
Phase 2
Then phase 2. No matter the quality, accidents can happen, so you need to know how to repair your clothes, so you can continue loving them.
Phase 3
Phase 3 is when something is not up to your taste anymore you can upcycle it or tailor it. All these phases cross each other every time as you need to keep caring, sometimes repair, and sometimes you need to alter the garment to your size.
What we don’t want you to do is upgrade newly bought garments. There are already so many clothes, let’s use the ones that are already around.
How can we have fun and be proud as we repair & reuse our clothing? Do you have a favorite technique or tip that you can share?
Make it communal, so do it with a group or listen to a good podcast or book while repairing.
I like the Sashiko technique, which is a repair using the running stitch. It can vary from straight stitches to full patterns. I like it not only because of its looks but also because it is very meditative to do, you don’t need a sewing machine for it. It’s good for a starter, but it’s also a technique you can get better at and make very intricate.
The Sashiko technique is also very rich in its history, as it was done around the Edo period in Japan, when Japanese people were subject to strict repressive laws, such as laws that dictated different classes by the kind of clothing they had to wear. Materials and fabric were scarce, and clothing was never thrown away but got patched up and repaired. This increased the warmth and durability in working clothes. Eventually, different patterns were created that also have different meanings for luck or wealth.
Tip:
When you start repairing hold your garment in the light and you see how worn out the area around the rip is. Try to repair the whole area, otherwise, there is a big chance that you will have to repair it again soon after.
What are the plans for Fixing Fashion? How can people contribute and become part of the community?
We are waiting for the right time and funding to start the next version of Fixing Fashion. As we are fully based on donations through One Army. For now, everything is open source.
- On our website you can use (find) many tips about repair and reuse, look at the section; the academy and find videos for instructions, workshops or events.
- You can pin yourself on the map as someone who likes to get started and is looking for a community to ask questions to.
- If you are an experienced repairer or upcycler you can pin yourself on our map to help other people and/or make some money out of it.
- You can pin yourself on our map as a repairer or upcycler if you want to do visible repairing of upcycling for other people and make some money out of it.
- We also share your fixes on our socials if you use the #fixingfashion or #fixingfashioncommunity