Katherine Hamnett

Katharine Hamnett, born 16 August 1947, has been a successful fashion designer since the 1970s. I chose to focus on her when looking at political statements because her aim is to tackle social issues through her staple T-shirts. When her clear, simple, designs first appeared on her 'protest t-shirts' in 1983 they were considered to be an innovative way of addressing society's problems. Examples of slogans used are: 'CHOOSE LIFE', 'PRESERVE THE RAINFORESTS' and 'SAVE THE WORLD'.

Between 1964 and 1969, Hamnett studied Fashion and Textiles at Stockholm and St Martin's College in London, after which she plunged straight into the fashion world, creating her own fashion business 'TUTTABANKEM' and appearing at various fashion shows. During these years she claims to have invented garment dyeing, stonewashing, distressed denim and stretch denim.

In 1979 she launched the current 'KATHARINE HAMNETT' label, with which she began producing her staple protest T-shirts in 1983. The reason that this approach to making a political statement was so successful is that she made fashionable T-shirts that were appealing to consumers and stood out, making the message visible and clear to the world. She used her buyers as a medium through which she could penetrate society with her ideals and attempt to tackle world issues.

Even so, Hamnett accepts that making a political statement through fashion is not always successful-

"It would get people thinking and then it would happen. But it doesn't happen that way."

Hamnett merely uses her T-shirts as a way of raising awareness in people in the hope that this might in some way affect the actions and decision we make. She, however, is already actively making a change by using solely organic cotton in her designs because of the exploitation suffered by cotton workers.

"I knew the solution was organic cotton."

Hamnett's high profile exposure has contributed to the popularity of her designs and therefore been beneficial to her cause of raising awareness.

The Beginning

My journey started with casual search for textile designers that interested me in a particular way. I have always loved bright multicolour, and after doing some book research Susie Freeman caught my attention in particular. Initially I chose her as one of the artists for my project because her recurring use of pills, amongst other things, always gives her work a variety of colours and makes it pleasing to look at.

Chemical Allsorts

I soon discovered that Susie Freeman aims to convey a message in every one of her works. The incorporation of pharmaceuticals in her pieces is intended to address the problem of Britain's consumption and reliance on modern medicine.

"Cradle to Grave explores our approach to health in Britain today. The piece incorporates a lifetime supply of prescribed drugs knitted into two lengths of fabric, illustrating the medical stories of one woman and one man." British Museum Online Catalogue

Her interest in this issue was the outcome of a "household filled with talk about science-related issues" and her friendship with Dr Liz Lee, a GP. Susie Freeman studied Textiles and Fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University and later took a Textiles course at the Royal College of Art, where she developed a pocket knitting technique which trapped small objects into fabrics (see Chemical Allsorts). Freeman used this technique to combine Dr Lee's medical knowledge with textiles to create "potentially useful artworks that illustrate everyday medical issues."

Susie Freeman uses her art as political statements illuminating these key issues, and so raising awareness in society.

http://www.rowleygallery.com/Artist-Susie-Freeman.aspx

This concept of hers spurred me to continue my research into how textile artists use their art as political statements, to get their views across through a creative medium.

It was easy to find examples of this popular branch of art both in high profile exhibition work...

Tampon Chandelier, Joana Vasconcelos, 2005

...and in everyday fashion.

The Keffiyeh scarf

The Che Guevara shirt