‘Stay angry as hell with our politicians’: Katharine

The pioneering designer and activist has been making waves for decades. Now she’s back with an urgent message – and this time she won’t take no for an answer…

Katharine Hamnett has been plotting. On the cracked, peeling screen of her battered iPhone, she’s scrolling through what she hopes to be the blueprint for, come polling day, a ballot box-based revolution. It’s a PDF with an array of mocked-up billboards, each emblazoned with a policy or slogan. A designer and campaigner renowned for her political punchiness, she has made the text snappy and succinct, all in trademark capital letters. “In here is everything that’s missing,” she laments, “from this so-far awful election. Both main parties want us to feel like progressive ideas are in the bin. Forgotten. We mustn’t let them.”

She reels off a selection: “Vote freedom to protest; vote free education; vote save the NHS; vote let aid into Gaza now.” There are plenty more. “Vote legalise, nationalise and tax marijuana; vote help refugees; vote ceasefire; vote good, free public regional transport; vote roller-discos.” Yes, roller-discos. “I did some research while working with Podemos in Spain. They foster community and solidarity. Isn’t that fun?” Another, her overarching mantra: “Our vote is the most powerful tool to get the world we want. I want that one all over.”