Fashion trends come and go, but Katharine Hamnett is on her own level “trendy”. A legend in her own right, in the 1980′s Hamnett pioneered the bold lettered slogan t-shirt with sayings like “CLEAN UP OR DIE”, “SAVE THE FUTURE”, “STOP AND THINK”, and became one of the most copied designers at the time. In a way, being copied was a way for her to spread the social/political messages she was trying to bring into the forefront of the fashion industry. It was always important to her to expose the injustices involved in the fashion industry and after personally visiting African cotton farmers and seeing the slavery and poverty existing because of western cotton industries.

In 2004 Hamnett re-launched her collection of slogan t-shirts labeled “KATHARINE E HAMNETT”, the “E” standing for as ethically and environmentally manufactured as possible. It’s so inspiring to see such a legendary and influential designer genuinely care about changing problems in the ethical, manufacturing, and agricultural processes of apparel production. Because of Katharine Hamnett a slogan t-shirt isn’t just a t-shirt, it can mean that much more for all of us and stand the test of time or “trends”.

You can find Katherine Hamnett’s famous tees right here.