Garment Repair Dataset Number 1: Collected 2023 as part of the Fashion Fix project

Full description

This dataset contains 119 records of garments repaired at seven garment focussed community repair events held at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia (listed below). Data collection was on an opt-in basis for repair participants, and as a result more garments were repaired at these events than are captured in the dataset. The clothing repair data is based on two data points, photo documentation and surveys. The photographic images record the garment as well as detail of its repaired portion. The survey collects “garment demographics” adding context to the images. The repair data aims to increase understanding of clothing use and repair from a material perspective specific to the conditions of contemporary clothing.

The data was collected at the following events:

1. Fashion Fix Workshop, Melbourne Fashion Festival program, 7 March 2023, approx. 40 repair participants

2. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 1, 2 May 2023, 12 repair participants.

3. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 2, 9 May 2023, 12 repair participants. Focused session: “Rips and Tears”

4. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 3, 16 May 2023, 22 repair participants. Focused session: “Fastenings and Alterations”

5. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 4, 23 May 2023, 24 repair participants. Focused session: “Darning and Knitwear”

6. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 5, 30 May 2023, 18 repair participants. Focused session: “Denim repair”

7. PlaceLab Community Repair Workshop 6, 8 June 2023, 19 repair participants. Focused session: “Alter your t-shirt”

Events 2-6 were supported by RMIT PlaceLab as part of the "Wear and Care" project. For further outputs from that project see: Delly, Kiri (2025). The RMIT PlaceLab Collection. RMIT University. Collection. https://doi.org/10.25439/rmt.c.7769360