Over four intense days, 30 students from across Europe breathed strange, electric life into discarded garments — relics pulled back from the brink and reimagined with hands that refuse to waste. What emerged wasn’t just clothing, but a shared vocabulary: sustainability as a dialect, mending as a manifesto.
In the heart of Barcelona, the seventh edition of the Sustainable Challenge returns — this time under the quietly powerful banner of Collective Mending. MODAFAD brings together 30 students from design schools across Europe for a four-day creative marathon at Disseny Hub, pushing them to reimagine neglected garments not as waste, but as raw material for renewal.
As Amy Twigger Holroyd — curator of this edition, researcher and professor of alternative fashion systems — reminds us, mending isn’t just a personal act, but a political one. In a world consumed by overproduction, repair becomes resistance: “doing anything to extend the life of the things you already have is a form of resistance … the most sustainable garment is the one you already own.”
Under her guidance, the challenge cultivates a communal approach: stitching together not only fabric, but stories, cultures, and techniques. Amy reflects on how mending has traditionally been a social practice — evenings spent repairing clothes while sharing tales — and how reviving this collective ritual can validate repair as socially valuable again.
But the “collective” in Collective Mending goes deeper. For her, the project isn’t simply about fixing—it’s about transforming. Amy argues that embracing imperfection and working within the constraints of pre-existing garments forces designers to rethink their creative assumptions. As she puts it: “What would happen … if brands were to really take responsibility for the multitudes of garments that they have already produced?”
She also speaks of emotional durability: mending doesn’t merely prolong the life of a garment — it strengthens the bond between wearer and piece.
Through repair, items become more than functional or beautiful: they hold memory, mistakes, and transformation. Amy hopes the students will take this sense of connection beyond the challenge — into their future work, and maybe even into the wider industry.
During the challenge, teams are asked to imagine “mending salons” — speculative spaces in which repair is practiced cooperatively, not competitively. Amy’s vision encourages an alternative world, one in which design accommodates the worn, the broken, and the imperfect.
The final looks these students present are more than clothes: they’re proof that repair can be radical, aesthetic, and collective. Worn scars transform into design statements; reclaimed fabrics get dialogues of their own. Here, mending isn’t just about survival. It’s about imagining—and wearing—a future crafted together.
Coral wears “Motion” created by Blén González Costea Llamas, Berke Rizalar, HuanTsun Su, Martina Otero Jeandrevin and Maya Ceplen.
Riri wears “Healed by Yarn” created by Francisca Latapiat Cabrera, Matylda Wlodarczyk, Melanie Cieslinski, Victoria Rusu and Xavier Tejero Azorín.
Maeve wears “Demending” created by Catalina Gómez, Iván Martín Paz, Jacky Lambrichs, Midori Gamez Majima and Sumeja Osmančević
Cio wears “Shūri” created by Ada de Dalmases i Pedró, Elcke Hartjes, Laura Camila Velasco Ortega, Nikola Vranić and Pelayo de Bernardo.
Matias wears “Intrusive Thoughts” created by Darío Toré Vázquez, María Rey Rubio, Michelle Wu, Renske de Meijer and Sofija Krsmanović.
Santa Maria wears “Glimpse of Hope” created by Aramide Gillett, Ella Döringer, Jeanne Roest, Juan Manuel Pérez López and Martina Dot Grau.
Credits:
Photography: Anne Galán @annegalanphoto
Casting: Victor von Schwarz @victorvonschwarz
Make-up and hair: Allison Caranton @allison.caranton and Pablo Serna @tepblito
Talents: @maeverc__ @cio.vives @matiosale @santamariapvta @mommytaai @bugarrxn
Mediapartner: FUCKING YOUNG! & VEIN MAGAZINE
Thanks to Modafad, Disseny Hub, and all the experts and students part of this edition.
