With sustainability and ethical practice fashion's hot potato du jour, we welcome those who have been implementing this change for decades.

Enter Katharine Hamnett. The original pioneer of social activism in fashion and a renowned 'eco warrior', Katharine has been campaigning for better practices since her brand launched in 1979, by way of provocative slogan tees-cum-conversation starters. Often working with charities pro-bono, her tees have highlighted and challenged issues from Brexit to the AIDs crisis, which led to her appointment as CBE in 2010 for her services to the fashion industry. 

Navigating the field of sustainable fashion, she has produced a solution for fashion's manufacturing faux pas. Using biodegradable fur instead of faux plastic fur and only using eco-technical and environmental cotton, her minimal and classic designs have achieved styling staple status transitional between all seasons.


What's the mantra you tell yourself first thing in the morning?
Get the fuck up!

How do you take your coffee? 
Early.

If you weren't doing what you're doing now, what would you be doing instead? 
Looking after stick insects in Costa Rica...



If you could only keep one outfit in your wardrobe, which would it be? 
My new bathing costume in recycled ocean plastic.

Who's one person you'd love to have dinner with? 
Donald Tusk, because he said ‘British remainers are being ignored by parliament and they are EU citizens’. He’s right, this is a breach of our human rights. I’d like to have dinner with him to enlist his help on getting the EU’s assistance and redress this. To force the UK government to hold a second referendum with Remain or Leave on the ballot paper and to take this to the European Court of Justice if necessary.



What's the main thing you would like to achieve this year? 
Getting a second referendum on Brexit with ex-pats allowed to vote. Just to check that Brexit is what we still want – or not.

Who would you want to record your audio autobiography, voice-wise? 
Lee Marvin of 'I Was Born Under A Wandering Star’ fame. He’s dead but I bet you could electronically simulate his voice.

Why did you end up doing what you do?
When I was at school, I put a pin in a career book and it came up Fashion Designer.

Shop Katharine Hamnett:


More 8Qs:

+ Han Chong: "Fashion is the most versatile art form"

+ Tina Lutz: 
"I got a sewing machine from my parents and started sewing for the entire family"

Saloni Lodha: "I always wanted to be an artist and live by the sea in Pondicherry"