Who is Hasna Kourda, and where does her circular vision come from?

Hasna grew up on an island in southern Tunisia, surrounded by a way of life where nothing was wasted and every resource held value. When she came to Paris she experienced a cultural shock—one that eventually motivated her to adapt a circular mindset into fashion through tech and entrepreneurship.

Key Conclusion: Hasna’s vision for Save Your Wardrobe is rooted in lived experience and cultural values around resourcefulness and sustainability.

How did the pandemic affect Save Your Wardrobe and the industry?

COVID was a catalyst. It prompted both consumers and brands to reflect—not just on consumption, but specifically on their wardrobes. It forced brands to engage customers without relying on selling new products.

Key Conclusion: The pandemic helped shift the focus from buying to caring, offering SYW a chance to prove the relevance of post-purchase services.

Why don’t more people repair their clothes?

The main barrier is cost and practical impact—if an item can’t be worn while waiting for repair, it may be discarded.
But the extrinsic durability—how emotionally or socially valuable a garment is—is what matters most.
Hasna emphasizes that even polyester garments from fast fashion can last a long time if treated well.

Key Conclusion: To promote repair, we must emphasize the extrinsic durability of garments (the connection people have with their garment. It covers different dimensions like the emotional or the aesthetic side of the relation one has toward a garment) and design services around that.

Forever Young Comitee’s take: Government action can help—for example, the Repair Fund mentioned by Hasna provides financial support to repair operators for each repair, allowing them to offer services at a more affordable price to consumers. More information on this French repair fund can be found on Refashion’s website.

An example of repair/alteration that can add extrinsic durability to a garment : visible mending?

Visible mending bridges function and identity in various ways:

• Luxury: Personalized and priced accordingly.

• Premium: Customers expect “invisible” restoration.

• Mass Market: Opportunity for creative expression.

Le Bon Marché is an example of a retailer differentiating its service by offering visible mending through their own repair/personalization services. 

Key Conclusion: Visible mending can drive a culture shift by reframing repair as something desirable, creative, and expressive.

How does Save Your Wardrobe help brands embed repair into their operations?

Many brands lack internal repair capabilities. SYW supports by:

1. Connecting brands with repair partners globally.

2. Providing tools to streamline customer support and warranties.

3. Helping to adapt to existing ecosystems (like Loro Piana) or build new ones (like with MAJE).

Key Conclusion: SYW helps brands scale circular services by simplifying operational complexity and maintaining brand quality.

 What’s the role of technology in SYW’s model?

• The platform is modular, intuitive, and scalable.

• Designed for ease-of-use—even tested by Hasna’s toddler!

• It embeds customer care, warranty, and reverse logistics into a seamless flow.

Key Conclusion: SYW offers brands a way to future-proof their service models, especially as regulation becomes stricter.

What were the early challenges—and what made SYW succeed?

• Gender & diversity bias and investor hesitation in early stages due to the newness of the subject.

• Market skepticism about circularity (in 2017).

• Spent 3+ years in research before launching—a rare startup strategy.

Key Conclusion: SYW’s success is driven by patience, deep insight, and a commitment to building the right solution—not just a fast one. Other challenges, such as gender and diversity biases, were too complex for a quick fix—but being supported by an encouraging environment made a significant difference for her.

What do brands need to commit to circularity?

• Brands must take genuine ownership—SYW doesn’t support “hands-off” greenwashing.

• Circularity must be embedded into the business model, not tacked upon.

• Even fast fashion could improve through better care and repair processes.

Key Conclusion: SYW works best with brands that are ready to transform, not just ticking a sustainability box.

How do regulations shape opportunities for circular models?

• Right to Repair (EU) and Loi AGEC (France) are evolving toward fashion.

• France’s Repair Fund offers real incentives.

• Regulations raise awareness—even before they’re enforced.

Key Conclusion: Regulation acts as a visibility driver and credibility boost, even if adoption is still maturing.

Where is Save Your Wardrobe active?

• Operational in UK, France, Nordics, Middle East, North America, Australia.

• Newly launched in Dubai.

• App is global and service availability is expanding.

Key Conclusion: SYW is strategically scaling where demand and opportunity align—but some markets (e.g. China, Korea) remain more complex.

What does the future of fashion look like in 25 years?

• Fashion will shift from product-focused to service-centric models.

• Value will come from repair, care, personalization, and emotional durability.

• Unrepairable items will be handled through recycling innovation and material design.

Key Conclusion: Circularity will not be niche—it will be the infrastructure of the industry, and services like SYW will lead that transition.