Sustainable Fashion Week: Palace Mends preloved rail

As part of Sustainable Fashion Week 2024 in Crystal Palace local residents have been using #visiblemending techniques like patches, darns, appliqué, embroidery and Japanese sashiko to rejuvenate secondhand clothes.

In collaboration with St Christopher's charity shop, we've taken damaged, donated clothes and turned them into a rail of beautifully-mended fashion pieces, each with its own unique mend.

All of the clothes are for sale, while stocks last!

Why buy preloved and mended

Buying a mended, pre-loved item that shows its age, loud and proud, is a brilliant way to extend the life of clothing. In the past, mending was a necessity and this thriftiness was hidden. Now repairs are celebrated through movements like visible mending, where the colour and design of mends draw attention to a garment’s long life.

The Palace Mends project

Our menders include grandmothers who have knitted and sewn for decades, textile artists whose work sells for premium prices and hobbyists with creative flair.

The aim of the project is to celebrate the creativity of the Crystal Palace community, reduce textile waste and raise funds for St Christopher's Hospice.

The full programme for Sustainable Fashion Week Crystal Palace is available on our Eventbrite page - stay updated on Instagram @sfwcrystalpalace

How to buy

The first items will go on sale on Friday 20 September, to mark the start of Sustainable Fashion Week, and the rail will be replensihed while stocks last. You do not need to reserve a spot or book a ticket!

The shop opening times are:

Monday-Saturday 10.00am - 6.00pm
Sunday 11.00am - 4.00pm

Where? St Christopher's Shop, 56 Westow Street, London SE19 3AF

A massive thank you to all of St Christopher's shop staff and volunteers in Westow Street who supported the mending project, especially: Teresa, Carol, Suze, Penny and Ella. Plus our brilliant menders whose amazing creative work has been stunning!

Sustainable Fashion Week in Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace is one of 20 community hubs taking part in Sustainable Fashion Week 2024 (20-29 September), uniting the community in taking creative action, to change the fashion system from the bottom up.

Our neighbourhood is one of London’s best places for vintage shops and is home to lots of people who love second-hand, homemade, repurposed and mended clothes.

Local residents have joined together to create a truly community-led programme for Sustainable Fashion Week. Among us are grandmothers who knit and stitch, bespoke dressmakers, celebrated textile artists, hobbyists with creative flair, and South London’s hippest fashion influencers. With everything happening in and around ‘The Triangle’ of local streets, you’ll find great charity shops, vintage traders, gallery spaces, makers’ studios and rails of fashion finds.

Artwork credits
Emotional Waterfall: emotionalwaterfall.com // @emotionalwaterfallart
Palace Mends: Sustainable Fashion Week Crystal Palace // @sfwcrystalpalace
All photographs: Sustainable Fashion Week Crystal Palace // @sfwcrystalpalace

Host or Publisher Sustainable Fashion Week - Crystal Palace