Restoration revolution: how to make and fix has become a fashion statement

In early 2020, Claire Catterall, Senior Curator at Somerset House in London, began exploring the potential of an exhibition on repair. Inspired by the proliferation of social media hashtags #visiblemending and #mendingmatters, and pop-up repair cafes, she observed a new generation of thrifty fashionistas keen to preserve clothing using traditional methods and contemporary creativity.

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"There was a growing interest in the repair trade," Catterall recalls. "Artists such as Celia Pym and Bridget Harvey spearheaded an artistic approach to the process, and repair has proven relevant to all conversations about sustainability."

An evolution of that first vision, Eternally Yours: An Exhibition of Care, Mending and Healing, opened at Somerset House last week. “Like many people, I was laid off during the pandemic, and it was quite an overwhelming experience. The ideas of repair and healing have merged, focusing on the duty of care we have to our community, to ourselves, to the planet and to our possessions,” says Catterall. This fueled the idea of ​​visible repair: an approach to repair where trauma or damage is part of the story - in people, objects or clothing. »