The Beauty of Repair

At Rue Blanche, longevity has always been important. Since 1987, we’ve designed everyday wear to last, built on timelessness, quality fabrics, and thoughtful design. We know the fashion industry plays its part in pollution, which is why we put care and durability at the heart of our collections.

 

We also try to inspire and inform our customers, because beyond design, there’s what happens once a piece is out of our hands. That is why we created pages to guide you in caring properly for your clothes and treating stains. But what when time inevitably leaves its mark? When a seam loosens, fabric frays, or moths take a bite? Mending can be the most powerful gesture of all, because when we repair a garment we extend its life. Across history, mending has even become an art form, turning signs of wear into something to be proud of, especially when done with care. Let’s look closer.

Care guide

Stain guide

A Brief History of Mending 

We made this journal to inspire you to start repairing your clothes again, so take a cue from these traditions, and let repair become part of your wardrobe too.  

For centuries, mending was not a lifestyle choice but a necessity. Textiles and clothes were precious and costly, so repairing them was part of life. Mothers passed down skills to their daughters and thaught them how to take care of their textiles.

Every culture shaped its own repair art. In Japan, sashiko used decorative stitches to strengthen garments, while boro patched scraps into striking new cloth. In Bengal and South Asia, the techniques of kantha and rafoogari emerged. Each grew from scarcity, showing how every stitch can carry beauty.

In Europe, wartime scarcity gave rise to the British “Make Do and Mend” campaigns, reminding households that a patched garment was a patriotic act. 

Mending has returned in bold new forms with bright threads and patches thar are worn with pride. After fast fashion nearly erased the practice, it’s reviving as a way to personalize clothes, resist throwaway culture, and revalue what we own.

Local contemporary voices in visible mending

Mending is not only a tradition of the past; it is also alive today, reinterpreted by a new generation of creatives who blur the line between art, craft, and fashion. Their work shows how repair can be personal, expressive, and contemporary. Most of them offer workshops, making it possible to learn directly from their practice. It is worth following them on social media and discovering whether what they offer suits your own needs.

Toufan Hosseiny

Toufan is a visual artist working mainly with textiles and a master of visible mending. Her project “i mend while she sleeps” began during her daughter’s nap times: an attempt to reconcile motherhood, identity, and creativity. By giving garments new life, she explores domesticity while blurring lines between art and craft. Toufan also offers workshops and a visible mending service that turns repair into poetry.

Contact Toufan

Andrea Bos

Andrea consciously designs clothing and objects from preloved textiles. She repairs, reimagines, and reinvents garments through patchwork, often creating custom pieces such as denim overalls or kimono-inspired jackets. Her playful patchwork curtains, collaborations, and workshops all celebrate the beauty of reuse and reinvention, showing how discarded fabrics can gain new life and meaning.

Contact Andrea

Mira Van Den Neste

A recent Saint Luc graduate in fashion design, Mira brings a sharp, unique eye to visible mending and hand embroidery. Her work shows a strong sensitivity for detail and a fascination with what stitches can reveal, rather than conceal. As an independent designer, she represents the new wave of designers who see mending not as repair alone, but as a form of expression.

Contact Mira


Let’s keep it growing

If you know of other inspiring people working with mending and repair, we’d love to hear about them. It would be nice if this journal could stay alive and grow over time, so we can continue adding new names and make it a useful resource to return to, whether to discover fresh voices or simply to be reminded of the beauty of giving clothes a second life.

 

Contact us

Where to Repair (Retouche Ateliers)

Across Belgium, skilled ateliers and specialists are ready to help extend the life of your favourite pieces. Below, we share a selection of trusted addresses in the cities where you’ll also find our boutiques. These ateliers are the ones our sales teams personally work with for their personal repairs or retouches in-store. 

Antwerp

Atelier Sartoria

Specialised in alterations of luxury garments.


Sint-Jorispoort 24
2000 Antwerpen
www.ateliersartoria.be

Retouche Atelier Meral

Rue Blanche Antwerp’s trusted atelier for alterations.


Cogelsplein 24
2100 Antwerpen

+32 (0) 483 58 38 70

Brasschat

Kleermaker Hazine

For alterations and repairs, as well as made-to-measure service. 


Bredabaan 247
2930 Brasschaat
+32 (0) 487 70 17 08
www.kleermakerhazine.be

Bruges

De kristal schaar

Provides alterations and dry cleaning.


Gentpoortstraat 13
8000 Brugge
+32 (0) 487 66 06 01

Brussels

Gold Finger Abdel 

Rue Blanche Louise’s trusted atelier for alterations.


Rue de la Bonté 2
1000 Bruxelles

 

L’Atelier Couture (Uccle)

Rue Blanche Uccle’s trusted atelier for alterations.


Rue Joseph Stallaert 42
1180 Uccle-Brussels

+32 (0) 475 90 32 91

 

Ghent

The Rits

Provides clothing alterations and made-to-measure work. 


Kortrijksepoortstraat 238
9000 Gent
www.therits.be

 

Leuven

De Retoucheur

Rue Blanche Leuven’s trusted atelier for alterations.


P.J. Van Benedenstraat 11
3000 Leuven
www.deretoucheur.be