Katharine Hamnett Biography
Katharine Hamnett CBE is a fashion designer from England best known for her political T-shirts. Her daring designs are one way she works to raise awareness about the production of clothing.
How old is Katharine Hamnett? – Age
She is 72 years old as of 16 August 2022. She was born in 1947 in Gravesend, United Kingdom. Her real name is Katharine E. Hamnett.
Katharine Hamnett Family – Education
Hamnett is the daughter of the late group captain James Appleton. Cheltenham Ladies’ College was where she studied. Hamnett attended Saint Martin’s School of Art. Tuttabankem was founded in 1969 by her and Anne Buck. She worked as a freelance fashion designer in London, Paris, Milan, New York, and Hong Kong from 1975 until 1979 when she founded the Katharine E. Hamnett clothing label.
Katharine Hamnett Husband
She married graphic designer Richard Hamnett when she was 21 and divorced four years later; she feared she would be the first woman in Britain to pay alimony because she earned more than him, but in the end, she gave him the house and kept the name.
Katharine Hamnett Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $5 Million.
Who made the Choose life T-shirt?
Launched in 1983, Hamnett’s oversized T-shirts with large block letter slogans were adopted by pop bands such as Wham! In the music video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” George Michael wore his white “CHOOSE LIFE” shirt. The t-shirt was also seen in Queen’s music video for “Hammer to Fall” (worn by Roger Taylor). During Queen’s historic appearance at the first edition of the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Taylor wore Hamnett’s “WORLDWIDE NUCLEAR BAN NOW” shirt.
Paul Morley of ZTT designed a series of “FRANKIE SAY…” T-shirts in 1984 to promote the record label’s chart act Frankie Goes to Hollywood (FGTH). Models like Naomi Campbell have been seen wearing Hamnett shirts with the slogans “USE A CONDOM” and “PEACE.” “If you want to get the message out there, you should print it in giant letters on a t-shirt,” Hamnett said, referring to her T-shirts. Her first shirt had the slogan “CHOOSE LIFE.” It was a protest against war, death, and destruction, inspired by a Buddhist exhibit. Hamnett has spoken out several times against the use of the slogan by anti-abortion activists in the United States. In 2015, Hamnett created a T-shirt with the words CHOOSE LOVE for the charity Help Refugees (which is now known as Choose Love). In addition to her own label, Hamnett was a founding member of Tanya Sarne’s Ghost label in 1984.
Katharine Hamnett Political Career
With research showing pesticide poisoning in cotton-growing regions and sweatshop labor being a major part of the textiles industry, Hamnett began lobbying for major changes in the way the industry operated in 1989. After being dissatisfied with the results, Hamnett canceled most of her licensing agreements and relaunched her line under stricter ethical guidelines, including manufacturing and agricultural practices, in 2005.
At one point, Hamnett met with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher while wearing her own T-shirt with the slogan “58% DON’T WANT PERSHING,” a reference to polls showing public opposition in the United Kingdom to Pershing missile bases in the country. At a London fashion show in 2003, Hamnett’s catwalk models wore shirts that read “STOP WAR, BLAIR OUT,” a reference to the impending invasion of Iraq. Hamnett created two T-shirts for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 2013: “EDUCATION NOT TRIDENT” and “NHS NOT TRIDENT.” As a further demonstration of her dedication to the anti-nuclear cause, Hamnett attended the 55th Easter demonstration in Aldermaston on 1 April 2013. During the 2015 general election, Hamnett was one of several celebrities who supported the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas’ parliamentary candidacy.