It can help forge a sense of identity in diasporic communities, and champion under-represented cultures on the world stage. So many of these discussions, whether it’s about flags or public monuments, are essentially anti-history. The same year saw Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell don Union Jacks at London Fashion Week, while Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit reclined on a Union Jack duvet cover on the cover of Vanity Fair. The New Labour victory ushered in an era of increased public investment in creativity, as well as funding from initiatives like the recent National Lottery.

Union Jack Tea Towel - 100% cotton Union Jack Tea Towel - 100% cotton

But virtually every other trend from the 90s and 00s has been resurrected, so is it possible we could see Union Jacks as the new tie dye/polka dots/florals for spring?They’d already sold six million albums, hit number one in 31 countries, smashed numerous records and broken America with a force not seen from a British export since Beatlemania (platform boots will help with that). but that flag carries with it all of British history, which also includes colonialism,” Aburam adds. But from Welsh tapestry to Harris tweed, Yorkshire knitwear and countless innovative new designers, these isles have a rich fashion history. It does the job perfectly and looks good hanging on the shelf behind the bar next to my beloved Welsh flag. Repurposed fabrics like quilts and crochet blankets are hot property in the world of fashion, making their own kind of political statement: one that flies the flag not for a country, but for the planet as a whole.

Union Jack Tea Towel - Etsy New Zealand Union Jack Tea Towel - Etsy New Zealand

We might look to DJ Tara Kumar mixing sarees with vintage streetwear, or sustainable labels like Kemi Telford, which makes contemporary pieces in traditional Nigerian wax fabrics. He painted his most famous work, Guernica (1937), in response to the Spanish Civil War; the totemic grisaille canvas remains a definitive work of anti-war art. Taking home British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year, and with more nominations than any other band or artist, it’s fair to say the ’97 BRITs crowned Ginger, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Posh as a staggering musical success story – although not everyone was prepared to bow down to the new queens of pop.Culture and creativity were given a prominent place in political discussions, and New Labour policy advocated for wider access to the arts. Except for the odd moment of unity – the Olympics, Eurovision, whenever Wordle uses an American spelling – it’s hard to see why anyone without jingoistic leanings would choose to wear the British flag across their chest in 2022. No matter how famous they got or how many branded products they shilled (more than 100 were trademarked in the year since their first release), there was still the sense that all we needed to join the gang was courage and a bag full of craft supplies.

Union Jack Tea Towel - Etsy UK

For the Spice Girls’ 2008 reunion, the tea towel dress was reimagined in Swarovski crystals by Roberto Cavalli. The Union Jack – which I believe has always been a violent symbol – was arguably at its least toxic in terms of what it represented in the 1960s and the 1990s,” says fashion historian, author and broadcaster Amber Butchart. Featuring Union Jack, London, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, UK, Cornwall, Devon, Oxford, Cambridge, Isle of Wight and much much more. As a Spice Girls fan, I loved that Ginger Spice made the bold choice to wear something that meant a lot to her, that defied the expectations of the people she was working with at that time. A 2017 study across 11 countries by Queen’s University Belfast found that while national flags can inspire vastly different feelings depending on a country’s history, from egalitarianism to obedience to aggression, “​​the British flag still has associations with a sense of past imperial greatness.The indefatigable artist has been the subject of exhibitions at the world’s most prestigious institutions, from the Museum of Modern Art and Centre Pompidou to the Stedelijk Museum and Tate Modern. It’s the dress that launched a thousand drag acts and school talent show routines, the dress that was copied and flogged on market stalls across the land, and the dress that has just been rendered in plastic for the brand new Spice Girls LEGO set. The first prime minister,” Bridget Jones wrote in her diary, “I can completely imagine having voluntary sex with. A new “British invasion” – culturally, at least – that harked back to the swinging ’60s while looking forward to a brighter future. As for Geri, she’s undergone something of, um, a cultural shift herself over the past 25 years, from outspoken pop rebel to self-styled lady of the manor, frequently seen in tweeds and pearls.