Stories
What We Keep
Written by Emma Fitzgerald
The average garment is worn seven times. That figure should be the industry’s central scandal, and it is barely discussed.
Not only a material problem
Clothes that last are not merely a material problem. They are a design problem and, more uncomfortably, an emotional one. A strong fibre in an ugly shape is landfill with a longer delay.
What keeping actually requires
You keep what you are attached to. So the real question is not how to make cloth stronger, but how to make it worth the attachment. In practice that means:
A shape that will still be defensible in ten years, which rules out most of a given season.
A cloth that improves with use rather than degrading, so the object rewards the habit.
Seams that can be opened and repaired by someone who is not a specialist.
The uncomfortable part
None of this is solved by better fibre. It is solved by making fewer things worth keeping — a constraint we have written into the core collection.
Cormac Byrne
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times is the average garment worn?
Seven. That figure should be the industry's central scandal and is barely discussed.
Is durability only a material problem?
No. It is a design problem and, more uncomfortably, an emotional one. You keep what you are attached to.
What makes cloth worth keeping?
Repairability, a shape that still works in ten years, and a surface that improves rather than degrades with use.
