Katharine Hamnett (centre) at Oxfam in Dalston. Photograph: Francis Augusto / Oxfam
British fashion designer and activist Katharine Hamnett has paid a surprise visit to Oxfam’s shop in Dalston to support the charity’s #SecondHandSeptember campaign.
Hamnett is lending her ‘No more fashion victims’ slogan to the campaign, which encourages people to shop second-hand and reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the planet.
The iconic words will adorn a limited-edition run of Oxfam-donated T-shirts for sale across the charity’s shops.
It will be the first time that the slogan has appeared on second-hand clothing – with one of the tops making a star appearance at Oxfam’s Style for Change catwalk show at London Fashion Week.
Hamnett, who has campaigned for more than three decades to address the environmental impact of the fashion industry, said: “I live in Dalston so my local Oxfam shop seemed like the perfect place to announce my support of #SecondHandSeptember.
“It’s an amazing campaign that helps to shine a light of the benefits of buying pre-loved clothes instead of new. Something I am a big advocate of.
“The Dalston shop crew are gearing up for a busy month which they hope will see a surge in donations of good quality clothes.
“It’s a fab shop, that’s well worth a visit if you’re passing. I picked up a gorgeous picnic blanket for my birthday and even spotted some of my own trousers in the shop, which I think I designed over 20 years ago.
“It’s great to see that even my own designs are still being loved and enjoyed years on.”
Deputy store manager at Oxfam’s Kingsland Road branch, Daria Santoro, said: “We get a fantastic mix of shoppers come through our doors every day, but it was a real treat getting to meet Katharine today.
“We couldn’t believe it when we found her trousers on the rack! Katharine is walking proof that second-hand clothes are cool and stylish.
“We really hope people in the area get behind Second Hand September this month, come and have a look around the shop and feel inspired to bring a few donations of clothes they don’t wear anymore with them.”
Hamnett’s ‘No more fashion victims’ tees will pop up in Oxfam shops throughout September to help promote the need to re-use, re-wear and extend the life of existing clothing to help tackle the climate crisis.
The limited-edition collectable T-shirts will be printed without harmful chemicals traditionally used in screen printing. Instead, water-based eco-inks will transfer the legendary logos on to the clothes.
Now in its sixth year, #SecondHandSeptember aims to show people that secondhand does not mean second best, and to encourage donations of unwanted quality clothes so they can be enjoyed and worn by someone else.
You can style for change this September by pledging to shop second-hand and donating any of your preloved clothes to Oxfam.
Find out more at https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/.