A warm welcome to Tereza Preussová and Clara Gander!
In her study titled “Virtual Textiles: Repairing Clothing,” Clara Gander examines the more short-term, everyday repairs of clothing and how this process unfolds—from the virtual provision of instructions, for example via apps and online platforms, all the way to the finished, physical garment worn on the body. The study examines both the provision and use of repair instructions as well as everyday communities, such as those found in Repair Cafés. The study aims to answer questions about the connections between the online and offline aspects of repair, how repair takes place and evolves across different media and infrastructures, and whether the “small” futures of everyday repair can coalesce into a shared vision of the future.
In the second case study, “Virtual Machines: Repairing Textile Machinery,” Tereza Preussová examines the potentially long-term repairs of industrial textile machines. The research explores how virtualization is utilized in this field with the help of digital technologies and what technical, social, and organizational infrastructures are necessary for this. This subproject aims to demonstrate what “big” future horizons are shaped when artisanal experiential knowledge is combined with digital technologies. It examines the effects on everyday work when employees rely on digital support for repairs.
By linking these two case studies, the research project “Virtual Repairs: Working on Technical Futures,” under the direction of Dr. Ronja Trischler, aims to illustrate the possibilities and limitations in shaping the future through repairs under current conditions. Not least in light of intensifying socio-ecological crises, questions regarding whether repairs are carried out—as well as which items are repaired, how they are repaired, and with what consequences—are gaining increasing social significance. Examining clothing and textile machinery through the lens of repair offers a new perspective on the social and cultural significance of clothing, one that extends beyond existing perspectives on fashion.
Link to Research Project A05 “Virtual Repairs: Working on Technical Futures”