LOCAL HEROES: THE IMPORTANCE OF ARABELLA ANDREWARTHA’S BAKED BEAN DESIGNED T-SHIRT
It’s truly been a year like no other. Although beginning like any year would’ve, the arrival of COVID-19 has changed our lives for good.
It’s meant for a difficult year for many, as we exit our second lockdown, optimism is still yet to arrive. Many people are still coping with loss: of community, of family members, of jobs and income.
Whilst the present moment may seem bleak, the future shows promises of being brighter than days before. But the future can only be bright, if the future remains fed.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months, you would’ve been very aware of Boris Johnson and co’s hesitation to ensure that children on free school meals remain fed during this increasingly difficult time for parents.
After continual back and forth, an intense amount of campaigning and as a result of pressure placed on the government, a ‘u-turn’ worth £400million has been put in place, ensuring that kids will not go hungry until December 2021 at the very least.
There have been many heroes of this campaign, most notably Marcus Rashford, who utilised his public image in order to really pile on the pressure onto the Tory government. Whilst he was doing that though, there were many ensuring kids didn’t go hungry whilst the government twiddle their thumbs.
Some restaurants put together lunch packs for parents to collect for their children, some donated to food banks, and some raised money for charity, whilst voicing how many feel towards this Tory government - minus some stronger expletives.
The hero we want to celebrate today is Arabella Andrewartha, 26 year old creative, out and out Londoner, footballer and a real Arsenal fan - 4 things I respect massively, I must say. During a strange period that involved losing her job, she began to creatively explore her skillset, particularly her use of photoshop, and created a design that lands universally.
Being from a working class background, there’s nothing that screams that louder than baked beans. Piggybacking off that brand, with a slight twist in the branding, Bella has created a T-shirt that not only is cool to wear, as shown recently by Julie Adenuga, but one that has a hard hitting message: it’s purpose led design that is moving towards the forefront of fashion.
In collaboration with the Tee Mill, these t-shirts are not only helping the planet - with a tree planted for every t-shirt sold - but also helping The Felix Project deal with the immense amount of pressure faced by food banks in supporting a pandemic stricken community, with 50% of profits going to this charity chosen by Bella.
As well as being a phenomenal display of character from Bella herself, it’s work that’d look great on any portfolio: an impactful piece of art created within the 4 walls of Bella’s bedroom without massive budgets and resources.
Many are screaming Marcus Rashford for president, is it possible for us to have our first ever co-presidency at 10 Downing Street? I’d certainly trust Bella running the country too.