Geri’s solution was to diffuse any negative connotations by emblazoning the back of the dress with a peace sign.

Tea Towels - Union Jack Wear

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. It does the job perfectly and looks good hanging on the shelf behind the bar next to my beloved Welsh flag. Although the cheeky nod to the CND logo hits differently knowing that Blair would lead us into Iraq a few years later.

Inspired by African and Iberian art, he also contributed to the rise of Surrealism and Expressionism. Tony Blair was two months away from his New Labour landslide and surrounded by a kind of energy and optimism it’s hard to fathom in UK politics today.

Tea Towel Union Jack - Etsy UK

I use colourful and happy prints that most Nigerians wear to recreate happiness,” founder Yvonne tells me. But it’s the dress that everyone remembers, and the dress that ended up as a kind of sartorial shorthand for years to come. But while 90s nostalgia is still on the fashion menu, my generation will be looking back, feeling ancient, and remembering how momentous it felt to watch Geri and the gang swing it, shake it, move it and prove that a girl’s place wasn’t in the kitchen. But while we might look back and applaud the upcycling efforts, it’s fair to say the flag looks pretty different through contemporary eyes. 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).The British flag had already been a symbol of the far right for decades by this point, having been taken up in the 1970s by skinheads and neo-Nazis as a twisted display of toxic nationalism. 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. For the Spice Girls’ 2008 reunion, the tea towel dress was reimagined in Swarovski crystals by Roberto Cavalli.

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

A new “British invasion” – culturally, at least – that harked back to the swinging ’60s while looking forward to a brighter future. If that ever could have been possible – and I would argue it couldn’t, the context of the British Empire is simply impossible to ignore – then it is absolutely not possible now,” she says. 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. 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. In the seven months since their debut single, “Wannabe”, was released, the Spice Girls had gone viral the old-fashioned way: through TV screens, magazines and playground dance routines; through an avalanche of branded merch and a barrage of sassy soundbites.And after a tumultuous 25 years, it will take a long time to answer the question of who, as a nation, we think we are. It’s the one that was plastered across the front pages the next morning; capturing a moment, a mood, an attitude. When the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport released new guidance last year stating that the flag should be flown every day from all government buildings, it inspired a slew of bitter commentary from each side of the culture war.

Union Jack Tea Towel - Truly Great – Emma Bridgewater UK Union Jack Tea Towel - Truly Great – Emma Bridgewater UK

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. 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. Skimpy hemlines and Wonderbras were counterbalanced by tracksuit bottoms and clodhopping boots; every concession to the cis-het male gaze subverted by mouthy sloganeering. Picasso’s sizable oeuvre grew to include over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures,ceramics, theater sets, and costume designs. 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.But from Welsh tapestry to Harris tweed, Yorkshire knitwear and countless innovative new designers, these isles have a rich fashion history. 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. I hope for a future fashion industry where we can share each other’s heritage through clothes without unjustly appropriating or making others feel excluded, but rather through appreciation and giving credit where it is due. It can help forge a sense of identity in diasporic communities, and champion under-represented cultures on the world stage. 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.