| 1947 |
Katharine Eleanor Appleton born on 16 August 1947. With a father in the R.A.F she lives in France, Sweden, Romania and England and attends ten different schools including Cheltenham Ladies College. |
| 1964-1965 |
Studies Fashion at Konstfackskolan Stockholm. |
| 1965-1969 |
Studies BA Fashion and Textiles at Central Saint Martins College in London. |
| 1969-1975 |
On leaving college, sets up own fashion business TUTTABANKEM with Anne Buck, a college friend. Shows at the London designer collections, prêt a porter in Paris. Hires Lynn Franks as PR. The business grows rapidly and internationally. Customers include Henry Bendel, Saks, Browns, Countdown, and Alexander's of Rome. Clients include Liz Taylor, Susan George, Marsha Hunt, and George Peppard. |
| 1975 |
First fashion show at the garage Covent Garden. Works as a freelance designer in Paris, Milan, New York and Hong Kong. Invents garment dyeing. |
| 1976 |
Birth of first son. |
| 1979 |
Designs 'Goldie' for Adriano Goldschmied to finance launch of own label. Invents stonewashing, distressed denim and stretch denim.
Launches the KATHARINE HAMNETT label. First collection sold out at Joseph and the label rapidly picks up key retailers worldwide. |
| 1981 |
Introduces menswear. Sales booming worldwide.
Second son born. |
| 1983 |
Joseph opens the Chinese Laundry selling KATHARINE HAMNETT washed cottons. Katharine awarded Cotton Designer of the Year.
Launches first protest T-shirts; CHOOSE LIFE, WORLDWIDE NUCLEAR BAN NOW, PRESERVE THE RAINFORESTS, SAVE THE WORLD, SAVE THE WHALES, EDUCATION NOT MISSILES - designed to be copied, with the objective of effecting change by being seminal, using the excess media coverage that the label was receiving. T-shirts are sold with a percentage going to charity. |
| 1984 |
Awarded designer of the year by the British Fashion Council and menswear designer of the year from the Bath Costume Museum. Wears '58% DON'T WANT PERSHING' T-shirt to meet Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street. Part of the Big Five fashion show in Japan with Jean Paul Gaultier, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons. |
| 1985 |
'THINK GLOBAL' collection. Discovers Ellen von Unwerth and uses her for first major advertising campaign. By then selling in over 700 retail outlets in over 40 countries. Customers include The Beatles, Princess Diana, Faye Dunaway, Madonna, George Michael and Norman Foster. |
| 1986 |
Designs the 'Power Dressing' collection, which coins the phrase - epitomising 80's lifestyle and spearheading the return of tailoring and glamour. Licences in Japan for menswear and womenswear, bags, watches, scarves and baby wear. In November the flagship Brompton Road store, designed by Norman Foster, opens. |
| 1987 |
Katharine opens her store in London's Sloane Street designed by Nigel Coates. The Glasgow store is opened, also designed by Nigel Coates. |
| 1989 |
Katharine Hamnett moves from own manufacturing base to licensing in Italy. Initiates research into impact of clothing and textile industry on the environment, which reveals an untenable situation. Discovers that conventional cotton agriculture is responsible for 10,000 deaths per annum from accidental pesticide poisoning (now 20,000) 1,000,000 deaths p.a. from long-term acute pesticide poisonings desertification and long-term contamination of the aquifer. Millions of people working in conditions worse than slavery. Decides to try to change the industry from within and launches Autumn/winter 'Clean up or die' collection.
Carries on designing and showing collections but campaigns continuously for the next 14 years with her various licensees all over the world to get them to produce ethically and environmentally but fails. |
| 1990 |
After a row with the British Fashion Council Katherine Hamnett rocks the British fashion industry by moving her catwalk show to Paris, showing the spring/summer 'Ooh Lah Lah' collection. Becomes first fashion designer not to show in own capital, which becomes a trend. At the Autumn/Winter show, pushes the issue of cancelling third world debt. Detailed information is distributed on the subject.
Katharine Hamnett gives a speech on the dangers of conventional cotton cultivation in New York. Environmental Cotton 2000 is launched in association with the Pesticide Action Network, a research and education programme concerned with pesticides used in cotton growing. Money is raised to help cotton farmers buy a percentage of the wholesale price of garments being donated to Pesticide Action Network. Designs costumes for the Ballet Rambert's production of Strong Language. |
| 1991 |
The Spring/Summer collection, called 'Green Cotton by the Year 2000', reflects the policies launched in the Environmental Cotton 2000 programme, which has now evolved into the Pesticides Trust's sustainable cotton programme. Produces 'Katharine Hamnett - the movie', starring Naomi Campbell, Boy George and Tara Newley, directed by Ellen von Unwerth and premiered in Paris. |
| 1992 |
The Spring/Summer Post Materialism collection, followed by Berlin for Autumn/Winter. The photographer Juergen Teller is commissioned for the new advertising campaign. |
| 1993 |
The Autumn/Winter womenswear show marks a return to the positive with the 'Yes' collection. |
| 1994 |
The Spring/Summer womenswear collection is cat walked in Milan for the first time. Katharine participates in the 'Quilts of Love' Aids charity event. The 1994 Katharine Hamnett advertising campaign photographed by Juergen Teller is awarded the Marie Claire/Igedo fashion advertising award in Germany. |
| 1995 |
Terry Richardson is commissioned to shoot his first advertising campaign for Katharine Hamnett Denim. Katharine makes front page news heralding her return to London, presenting her Spring/Summer 1996 womenswear collection. |
| 1996 |
In February, the London flagship boutique is re-vamped with a new environmental design by David Chipperfield, followed by stores in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. |
| 1997 |
Katharine Hamnett previews her second film 'Lost Luggage' at London Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer 1998 collection. Shot in California, it stars Iris Palmer, Annie Morton, Brighdie Grounds, Johnny Zander and Ritchie Birkenhead. Further retail stores were opened in 1997 in Korea and Hong Kong. |
| 1998 |
Elaine Constantine shoots the Spring/Summer Hamnett and London campaigns. |
| 1999 |
Elaine Constantine shoots the Autumn/Winter 1999 campaigns. |
| 2001 |
Directly after 9/11 Katherine produces a series of T-shirts against the invasion of Afghanistan; NO WAR, STOP AND THINK and LIFE IS SACRED. |
| 2003 |
Autumn/Winter womenswear collection is shown at London Fashion Week, the STOP THE WAR and STOP WAR BLAIR OUT T-shirts feature on the catwalk. This results in UK and International newspaper coverage including front pages worldwide. Designs T-Shirts for Stop The War Coalition march, NOT IN MY NAME and NO WAR.
Katharine is invited by OXFAM to visit African cotton farmers in Mali before the Cancun trade conference to highlight the plight of the farmers due to western cotton subsidies.
Katharine meets with African farmers and visits government officials. Photographs and interviews appear in key UK and international newspapers and television worldwide.
Shocked by what she sees in Africa, Katherine decides she has to be the demand for organic cotton and drive the demand, thereby helping farmers trade their way out of poverty. Growing cotton organically gives farmers a 15 per cent increase in income and improves health. She intensifies her campaigning work on ethical and environmental manufacturing but, realising the industry is deaf, she concentrates on consumer awareness of the issues
Spring/Summer 2004, Katharine Hamnett is on schedule at London Fashion Week, featuring, among others, Naomi Campbell wearing USE A CONDOM and SAVE AFRICA tees aimed at raising awareness of using protection against aidsbecause there is no cure. |
| 2004 |
Terminally frustrated at the industry�s refusal to even attempt to do things ethically and environmentally, Katharine cancels many of her licences and decides to go back into manufacturing herself (because she couldn�t trust anyone else to do it properly) to produce a new line KATHARINE E HAMNETT, E for being manufactured Ethically and as Environmentally as physically possible, to be launched from her own international on-line store.
A photograph of Jodie Kidd wearing Katharine's STOP WAR BLAIR OUT T-shirt is exhibited at the Imperial War Museum. |
| 2005 |
Katharine designs the PEACE AND LIBERTY T-shirt for the stop the war coalition march in Trafalgar square.
Katharine designs the VOTE FOR REFORM T-shirt for the Independent newspaper campaign.
Katharine designs and sources manufacturing for the organic cotton T-shirts for the Oxfam 'Make Poverty History' campaign: ORGANIC COTTON CAN MAKE POVERTY HISTORY FOR 1,000,000 FARMERS. |
| 2006 |
The year is spent re-sourcing a completely new, certified ethical and environmental supply chain of top quality raw materials - manufacturing across the world from farmers to packaging and distribution.
Shows KATHARINE E HAMNETT collection at London Fashion Week Esthetica Exhibition.
Signs contract with Tesco for ethical and environmental organic cotton collection - mens, womens, boys & girls.
Website launched as online store and information hub for campaigning issues.
Expands campaigning interests to research Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). Attends Solar Cookers and Food Processing International in Granada, Spain.
Appears at Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) Annual Conference, Belfast. |
| 2007 |
KATHARINE E HAMNETT Ltd. collaboration with Dublin City University Business School Centre for Consumption Studies. Company is chosen as basis of pioneering 3-year research project on corporate social responsibility in the fashion industry.
Collaboration with Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) SAVE THE FUTURE T-shirt to highlight the horrors of cotton agriculture in Uzbekistan. Information stand in conjunction with EJF at London Fashion Week Esthetica Exhibition.
Accepts position of Professor for University of the Arts, London.
Launches line of ethically and environmentally mined gold and diamond jewellery with Cred on Valentines Day.
Speech at Capital Women Conference on nuclear in London.
Tesco collection launches in 40 Tesco stores during Fairtrade Fortnight. |
