Visible Mending vs Fast Fashion: Why Repairing Clothes is Actually Timeless 🕳️🐇 RabbitHole

You’re told to throw your clothes away. A hole? Done. A rip? Replace it. ❌ But that wasn’t always the case… Clothes aren’t supposed to stay perfect. For centuries, people repaired what they wore — not just out of necessity, but sometimes to ✨ make it better ✨. From ancient Egyptian garments stitched with coloured thread, to wartime Britain’s Make Do and Mend, visible mending has always been part of everyday life. So what changed? Welcome to RabbitHole, the series where we jump headfirst into the curious origins of the things we think we know 🕳️🐇 In this episode, presenter Lea Ogunlami takes us from ancient mending and Japanese embroidery, to fast fashion and luxury brands selling pre-destroyed clothes worth THOUSANDS — unpacking exactly how we ended up in here 🧐 She breaks down why “damaged” clothes might actually be the most valuable ones you own, and how today’s disposable culture might be one of the biggest scams in modern fashion. Featuring artists, makers, and visible mending techniques like darning, patching and Japanese sashiko, watch how to do them yourself, and get ideas for how to make your clothes unlike anyone else’s. Timestamps: 00:00 Ancient Egyptian mending with coloured threads 00:13 Bernuthsfeld Bog Man (8th century) patchwork 00:31 History of visible mending 00:39 World War Two Britain, Make Do & Mend 00:51 What is planned obsolescence? 01:05 The birth of fast-fashion 01:37 Patina (wear-and-tear) & stone washing denim 02:31 Balenciaga SS23 mud runway 02:50 Prada Fall/Winter 26 stained cuffs 03:21 What IS visible mending? 03:42 What is darning? 05:26 What is patching / patchwork? 05:55 What is Japanese Sashiko embroidery? (Little stabs) 06:57 Custom-made repair inspo with Ellen Poppy Hill 🔔 Subscribe for more exclusive content and behind-the-scenes videos @vamuseum-upnext ✂️ More making? https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/make-and-do 🧵 Put your sustainable fashion knowledge to the test over on Mused https://www.vam.ac.uk/mused/fashion/sus