International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated worldwide on March 8 every year in the form of performances, talks, free and ticketed events, marches, workshops, festivals, and more. The theme this year is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” which was created by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to put emphasis on women having a decisive role within emerging industries.

ATIKA London and REMIX have come together to celebrate and empower women including our very own makers Mary and Rosie. We asked them to talk about the powerful women who have had a big impact in their life and who inspire them the most.

Mary –
Who Has Inspired You the Most?
Katherine Hamnett

Why?
I’ve chosen Katherine Hamnett as she is not only a designer, but also an activist with strong political beliefs that affect the way she runs her business. She was one of the first to consider how damaging the fast fashion industry is on the environment and created slogan t-shirts to emphasise her political messages. I went to her talk last month to hear more about her activism and how she is changing the fashion industry. She is not just paying lip service, but she actively gets involved; in 2014 she took part in the Hackney Town Hall protest. I find her way of working and her desire to make a difference in the world inspiring. The REMIX team recently went to The Sustainable Angle which is a London Textile Fair to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly material for our next collection.

Rosie –
Who Has Inspired You the Most?
Myself

Why?
I was thinking about who I would choose and at first, I thought about picking someone like Solange, but I’ve decided to choose myself because I’m proud of how far I have come. I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am today, and I don’t think that you should want to be someone else. It is easy to forget or not realise how far you have come as it just happens gradually. In this day and age, you can get caught up in comparing yourself to others and wishing you had what somebody else had. I do struggle with my confidence and sometimes I need to remind myself that I am good enough. I also think that it is important to empower and be inspired by real people rather than just celebrities. It is alright to have bad days, but I keep reminding myself how far I have come. That is even more reason to be proud of myself for fighting against everything that I have had to deal with; especially as a woman. If you feel like you can’t do something, prove yourself wrong.

Charlie –
Who Has Inspired You the Most?
My Mum

Why?
Growing up, my mum was the one who raised me the most almost like she was a single mother. She wasn’t rich, but she was organised and cooked for three other people every single day. Even as an adult now I don’t cook for myself every day. After I moved out I began to realise just how much she did for me and also how expensive everything is. She always put other people in front of her, even sometimes too much. She stays in contact with me and checks on me all the time which is really sweet and thoughtful. When I moved to London she was the one to take me to the airport, she sends me care packages full of Dutch treats, and when she comes to visit from the Netherlands she has her suitcase full of food for me and hardly any clothes or things for herself. I know that she will be there whenever I need her.

Some inspirational quotes from some inspirational women:

Madonna – “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.”

Irina Dunn – “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”

Rebecca West – “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat”.

Margaret Atwood – “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”

Cheris Kramarae – “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings”.

Emma Watson – “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it.” Creator of the HeForShe campaign.

Betty Friedan – “No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor”.

Maya Angelou – “I’m a feminist. I’ve been a female for a long time now. It’d be stupid not to be on my own side.”

Louise Brealey – “I’d like every man who doesn’t call himself a feminist to explain to the women in his life why he doesn’t believe in equality for women.”

Mary Shelley – “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.”

Michelle Obama – “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens.”

Lena Dunham – “The idea of being a feminist- so many women have come to this idea of it being anti-male and not able to connect with the opposite sex – but what feminism is about is equality and human rights.”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman – “There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. Might as well speak of a female liver.”

Malala Yousafzai – “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”

By: Roz