All the rage

The designer and activist has been making waves for decades. Now she's back with an urgent political message

- Katharine Hamnett

KATHARINE HAMNETT has been plotting. On her battered iPhone, she's scrolling through what she hopes to be the blueprint for, come UK election 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 her trademark capital letters. "In here is everything that's missing from this so-far awful election," she laments. "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."

Hamnett's plan is simple: get these messages plastered across public spaces. "Politicians aren't talking about this stuff, but it's hugely popular," she says. "If I put them out and get people talking, maybe the parties will have to pinch them. It could swing the dial. And if not, it's a reminder to all of us that we deserve to vote for the future we actually want."