Fashion Royalty - Katharine Hamnett is Queen of the Slogan Shirt

CHOOSE LIFE, EDUCATION NOT MISSILES, WORLDWIDE NUCLEAR BAN NOW, SAVE THE FUTURE, and more recently, CANCEL BREXIT...just a few of the iconic slogan T-shirts designed by this week's guest over the years.

Designer Katharine Hamnett is one of the pioneers of modern British fashion. She invented the much copied slogan T-shirt, was the first winner of the British Fashion Council's 'Designer of the Year' award (in 1984), and championed organic cotton long before it was trendy. This year marks her 40th in the industry.

In 1989, her research into fashion's environmental & social impact horrified her. She lobbied the industry to act for change, but with little success. She campaigned directly on issues such as the use of pesticides and the plight of cotton farmers, and badgered her licensees to reduce the environmental and social impact of her collections. But it was a war before its time. She took the decision to wind down her brand – ripping up licences – until production methods could meet her environmental criteria. Moving out of the mainstream industry, she concentrated on campaigning, political activism and collaborating with charities. Now the world has caught up with Katharine Hamnett - in 2017, she relaunched her business.

In this frank, intimate discussion, you get to hear it all from her glitzy early years as a designer to what motivates her to be change agent today. We talk fast fashion, climate change, her work with organic cotton, saving the bees, but also growing up in France and being comfortable with being a minority of one. 

This Episode goes live on World Environment Day 2019, as Katharine Hamnett launches her latest tee. The Global Green New Deal Now T-shirt can be purchased at katharinehamnett.com and all proceeds go to support Greenpeace and their work on climate justice. 

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