276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Katharine HAMNETT Rectangle Vintage Ladies Watch White/Steel KH8004-B04

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

The crunch came in 1989, when Hamnett, then 42 and at the peak of her success, initiated research into the impact of her industry on people and the planet. “The results were devastating, a tsunami of nightmare,” she recalls. “Every single material and process had a negative impact – manmade fibres, leather tanning, viscose, dyeing and finishing. Thousands of deaths from accidental poisoning from conventional cotton agriculture; desertification and long-term contamination of aquifers.” Born in 1947, Hamnett was a “Cold War baby”, meaning that politics was inescapable growing up. The daughter of a diplomat, the designer lived all over Europe as a child, recalling how the family would have conversations with the taps running in the bathroom to avoid any potential surveillance that had been planted in their home. While politics may be in her blood, Hamnett never considered it as a career. “I wanted to be an archaeologist really, or a film director,” she recalls. “But my parents said you need a private income to be an archaeologist, and there were no women film directors.” When Hamnett discovered a school friend was going to Saint Martin’s School of Art (now Central Saint Martins), she decided to follow suit. “All teenagers are interested in fashion; it’s like biological programming,” she jokes.

In my opinion, desire and sustainability may be prime to some people, but desire, comfort and affordability can outweigh sustainability to many. Sustainability becomes difficult for many to afford. With continuous efforts from activists that promote sustainability, there is a better chance in future for people to be more influenced by the advantages of wearing sustainable clothes and thereby popularity and demand for such clothing can increase. With more time and funds invested towards research and development in this area of fashion, sustainable clothing could also become cheaper eventually so that it can be used by general public. On the other hand, modern technology and change in lifestyle leads to change in trend and fashion, rising to desire clothes accordingly. For instance, internet users are influenced by social media celebrities and desire to style on the latest trends. I personally like to dress up to my comfort than think about sustainability before investing in clothes. Overall, people like to dress as per their desire and think less about sustainability. More advertisement, knowledge and cheaper access to sustainable clothes can help tomorrow's environment. Katharine Hamnett is fashion’s queen of one-liners. “I looked at myself [while coming here] in the Uber and thought, ‘If only I’d done Botox,’” the 76-year-old designer says by way of an introduction, as we ride the lift at The Mills Fabrica – a sustainability-focused incubator and co-working space near London’s King’s Cross – on a sunny October morning. Bundled up in one of her own recycled-polyester parkas, Katharine Hamnett sits in her studio in London, recounting – in some disbelief – the bidding war she says is currently taking place over the original 58% Don’t Want Pershing T-shirt. “Several museums including MoMA and the Metropolitan want it, so I’m just going put it out to the highest bidder.” “How does that make you feel?” I ask. “Good!” she chortles. “I’m surprised it’s lasted but it’s still with us – and the price is going up.” The fact that Hamnett’s T-shirts can regularly be spotted on the streets of the UK, even today, is evidence enough of her lasting impact on the next generation. “It’s the epitome of wearing your values,” Joycelyn Longdon, founder of education platform Climate in Colour, says. “I think that we can all take inspiration from that.”Her ability to cut through the noise, and communicate the messages that matter, is undoubtedly one of her greatest strengths. “Katharine represents the power of storytelling,” Catherine Chong, a climate economist and co-founder of Farms That Feed Us, a social enterprise supporting farmers, says. “Most people aren’t predisposed to reading scientific papers.”

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment