Katharine Hamnett

by Ben McMahon
archival pigment print, 19 October 2017
18 1/8 in. x 14 in. (460 mm x 355 mm) image size
Purchased, 2018
Photographs Collection
NPG x200140

Sitterback to top

Katharine Hamnett (1947-), Fashion designer. Sitter in 3 portraits.

Artistback to top

Ben McMahon (1984-), Photographer. Artist or producer of 10 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Ben McMahon photographed the British fashion designer Katharine Hamnett in her east London studio, for the fashion industry magazine Drapers. Since launching her own brand in 1979, Hamnett has been renowned for producing oversized t-shirts with block letter slogans, often addressing contemporary issues, such as the UK leaving the European Union, seen here. Starkly lit by artificial light and dressed in her trademark no frills, monochrome style, Hamnett allows her t-shirt’s bold request to dominate the image, embodying her approach to fashion as a means for effecting political change.

Linked publicationsback to top

100 Fashion Icons, p. 72

Placesback to top

Place made and portrayed: United Kingdom: England, London (Sitter's studio, London)

Subjects & Themesback to top

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