Erasmus+

Textile Hospital saves clothes to make them last

Save clothes & make them last : Mândra Chic and their Textile Hospital

Save clothes & make them last : Mândra Chic and their Textile Hospital 849 945 Catherine Dauriac

This text has been sent by our partner Andreaa Ciorti to show how Mândra Chic saves and transforms clothes to make them last.

This is what we can read on their Facebook post: “Today, a little glimpse into the atmosphere at the Textile Hospital, where we have opened a new ward — one where we treat the wanderlust of textiles that “have nothing wrong with them.” 🙂

This little dress belonged to Flavia. She wore it only once, and then outgrew it. When we made her a new one, this dress came back to us, and its value was deducted from the price of the new dress. A kind of textile buy-back. 🙂

Textile Hospital saves clothes to make them last

With some of our pieces, such as T-shirts and sometimes hoodies, we can recover the handmade appliqués and transfer them onto a new garment, while the base pieces are woven on the looms at the Museum of Cloth and Stories.

With a dress, things are not quite so simple. Its construction does not allow us to remove and transfer the elements without damaging either the garment itself or the handmade details. And in this case, there would have been no reason to do so anyway — the dress is as good as new.

So we chose another way to extend its life. We save and transform clothes to make them last.

A small exchange that we are very fond of. Flavia continues her story with a new Mândra Chic dress, while the one she has outgrown does not end up forgotten in a wardrobe. It is far too lovely for that. It would be a shame if it could not carry its message and its story alongside another child.

We have added it to our little online shop at a reduced price, and we would love for it to find someone with whom this journey can continue.

Textile Hospital

For us, this is also what the Textile Hospital is about: repairing when something needs fixing, transforming when it can no longer be used as before, recovering whatever can be recovered, but also putting back into circulation the things that can still be worn exactly as they are.

We currently have three such dresses in our permanent sale section.

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What is CIRCUFash

What is CIRCUFash 1616 1484 Catherine Dauriac
What if fashion could be a tool for social inclusion, local production, and environmental responsibility – all at once?

That’s exactly what CIRCUFash is here to explore. 
We are an European Erasmus+ partnership bringing together five organisations across four countries, united by one conviction: the future of fashion can be circular, locally produced, and genuinely inclusive.

The global textile industry is one of the world’s largest polluters and often relies on opaque, exploitative labor chains. Meanwhile, marginalized populations in European cities lack access to high-value vocational training that combines traditional craft with modern circular technology.

What does that mean in practice?

Over the next 24 months, we will:
→ Open Urban Fashion Labs in Athens, Sibiu and Amsterdam — hands-on spaces where marginalised learners (women survivors of violence, migrants, unemployed youth) develop real circular design and production skills.
→ Build a free, open-access Vocational Training Curriculum so educators across Europe can teach circular fashion.
→ Launch a Citizen Science Platform where anyone can contribute their knowledge of local textile traditions, repair practices, and circular habits.
→ Co-produce 5 Pilot Capsule Collections: upcycled garments made by the people who trained in our labs.
→ Publish a Policy Paper with concrete recommendations for cities, businesses, and decision-makers.

What is an Erasmus+ project ? 

Erasmus+ is the European Union programme for education, training, youth, and sport. It promotes inclusion, innovation, and active citizenship, offering learning opportunities to young people, educators, and organizations.
Through international projects, Erasmus+ supports cooperation between organizations from different countries, the exchange of good practices, and the development of transversal skills.

Co-funded by Europe – Erasmus+
Circufash : Project No.: KA220-VET-E583B045

Want to be part of the movement?  
Join us, learn, and take action  
Learn more here : circufash.eu  
Subscribe to our newsletter here  
Follow @circufash on Instagram for updates

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