The Future Past 

The garments that come into Lindsey Hansen’s hands need refurbishing for a variety of reasons. They’re either worn out, ripped or simply out of style.

At the intersection of fashion and repair, she remakes cast-off clothes into newly wearable essentials. Style and sustainability have a fraught relationship, and she would like to bring the two concepts into harmony. 

Hansen might patch holes with a pattern of stitches, or stipple natural dye onto fabric like so many stars across the sky. She might swap out sleeves or perform extensive surgery on a pair of pants. She transforms a dated piece through just a slight shaping. 

Early in her career, Hansen worked at a company for which she designed 180 jackets every month.

“I was so disconnected from the making and so disconnected from my customer,” she said. “I didn’t want to be part of making more waste in the world.” She took a job with a couple of small-scale designers who used sustainable fabrics and sold in their own stores. Now her proximity to her customers is even closer, as her workshop occupies her store’s mezzanine, where she mends, tailors and reworks vintage fashion, as well as the beloved pieces people bring in. (She also dyes garments in large stockpots in her father’s garage in Napa.) 

“A huge part of sustainable fashion is not buying new,” Hansen said. “Vintage has always inspired me, given me ideas. I love the detail, the construction, and I’m a total fabric geek. At flea markets or on eBay, I look for pieces in need of repair. It’s like going to a shelter and wanting to take all the puppies home. It’s a salvation. I think, What is the potential of this piece?

This article is part of a series produced by reThinkRepair, a grassroots group that has interviewed and photographed more than 40 local repair businesses since 2018. Composed of a small team of eco-conscious San Franciscans, reThinkRepair celebrates the art of preservation by sharing stories of local repair shops with the broader community.

Writer: Tam Putnam

Photos: Chiara Hendrick