Present and past of needlework in the Netherlands through the lens of Dutch public media

This chapter examines clothing repair discourse in Dutch media from 1992 to 2024, revealing that despite a 20-fold coverage growth, repair remains marginalised without re-institutionalisation. Critical discursive matrix analysis of 1,445 texts uncovers an “infrastructure paradox” – facilities ostensibly for repair primarily serve social functions (community building, employment programmes) rather than accessible repair services. The Repair Café movement, which dominates facility coverage, perfectly captures this contradiction: journalists celebrate it as repair infrastructure, but it operates mainly as monthly volunteer events offering basic fixes like buttons and hems. Fashion industry voices remain virtually absent (5.8% of actors). The announcement-style coverage (79% of texts), mainly published in the local newspapers, creates “banalised discourse” lacking transformative potential. The analysis shows repair occupying interstitial spaces – neither fully commercial nor social, neither mainstream fashion nor alternative culture. Despite increasing environmental awareness and apparent infrastructure development, media discourse on repair remains at a basic “A1” level of language. Using only simple terminology, it does not progress beyond elementary vocabulary or engage with the deeper cultural dimensions of fashion. Public discourse demonstrates no shift towards re-institutionalising repair – it stays marginal, disconnected from how people shop and dress. This disconnect might explain why good intentions don’t become actions: people say they’ll mend, but rarely do.