Designer Katharine Hamnett first told the world to choose life 43 years ago with her tees, and the ‘Choose Life’ monologue that opened the first Trainspotting film in 1996 defined a generation. It called out the greed of the Tory government and the devastation unleashed on young people and the working class by Thatcherism, reinventing the 'just say no' drug narrative for disillusioned youth wanting to escape. For this year's sequel, the monologue was manipulated for a contemporary audience to reference everything from revenge porn to Twitter and zero-hour contracts – and now it’s getting the t-shirt treatment, courtesy of the original queen of slogan tees herself.
Famed for using her designs to make a political statement, the Brit designer, who once wore an explicitly anti-Thatcher number to meet the then Prime Minister, is a natural fit to turn another cult moment into designs made for the generation obsessed with merch. The designs coincide with the much-anticipated sequel T2: Trainspotting that came out earlier this year. Hamnett has branded everything from tees and hats to lighters and coffee cups with Renton’s iconic line.
Set to drop on April 8 to mark the Japanese release date of the film, you’ll be able to choose life by choosing merch from select retailers of the brand, as well as online. So go on, you know what to do.
