Katharine Hamnett

The designer Katharine Hamnett is one of the pioneers of modern British fashion. She invented the much copied slogan t-shirt, was the first to use distressed denim, and championed organic cotton long before many were aware of the damage that conventional production causes to the environment. Katharine Hamnett, especially so in the 1980s and 1990s, influenced both British popular culture and politics through the strength of her work. She was also the first designer to win the British Fashion Council's 'Designer of the Year' award in 1984. The most famous of Katharine Hamnett's slogan t-shirts was the CHOOSE LIFE version worn by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of the band Wham!. Over time Katharine Hamnett's messages became more concerned with the plight of Africa and environmental sustainability - two important issues she would return to time and again in the 2000s. https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/CAKyXPygZ7rDIA