Bethany Williams

Bethany Williams
Williams at the 2019 Fashion Awards
Born
Bethany Ellen Williams

(1989-12-14) 14 December 1989
Birkenhead, England
Alma mater
Years active2016–present
Websitebethany-williams.com

Bethany Ellen Williams (born 14 December 1989) is a fashion designer and artist. She has received a number of accolades, including the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, three Fashion Awards, and the BFC Vogue Fashion Fund.

Early life

Williams was born to Scouse parents[1] near Liverpool and grew up in the Isle of Man. Her mother was a pattern cutter at a factory in Liverpool.[2] Williams attended Murray's Road School and completed her A Levels at St Ninian's High School.[3][4] She initially intended to study geography but instead took the art foundation course at University College Isle of Man.[5] She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art Critical Practice from the University of Brighton in 2012.[6] She completed a Master of Arts (MA) in Menswear at the London College of Fashion. Williams' final graduating collection was titled Breadline.[7]

Career

After completing her Menswear MA, Williams showcased her AW16 collection at Vancouver Fashion Week and officially founded her eponymous sustainable fashion label in 2017, combining recycled and sourced material from San Patrignano. She launched the label's first collection Women of Change at the 2018 London Fashion Week in collaboration with illustrator Aaron Skipper. She also collaborated with both in addition to the Quaker Mobile Library and Hachette UK on her "bookish" SS19 collection No Address Needed to Join.[8] No Address Needed to Join featured in the Sustainable Thinking exhibition at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence.[9]

Williams returned to London Fashion Week the following year with her AW19 ready-to-wear collection Adelaide House. She titled the collection after the Liverpool women's shelter of the same name and incorporated bits of newspaper and art by Giorgia Chiarion.[10] For Adelaide House, Williams won the second Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.[11] Williams won British Emerging Talent in the Menswear category at the 2019 Fashion Awards.[12] She was also a finalist for the 2019 LVMH Prize[13] and featured in the Yoox x Vogue Italia Next Green Talents showcase at Milan Fashion Week.[14] Williams then collaborated with Adidas Originals, the charity Spires and Chiarion again on her SS20 collection Butterfly Café.[15]

For her AW20 collection No Recourse to Public Funds, Williams starting collaborating with Melissa Kitty Jarram and the Magpie Project.[16][17] Williams and Jarram also sculpted a sofa for the Adidas Originals flagship shop on Carnaby Street in autumn 2020.[18][19]

Williams would collaborate with Jarram and the Magpie Project on her SS21, SS22 and AW22 collections All Our Children,[20] All Our Stories[21] and The Hands That Heal Us respectively.[22] In summer 2021, Williams displayed her first public art installation to accompany All Our Stories.[23] An exhibition titled Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems was held at the Design Museum, curated by Priya Khanchandani. Williams also presented The Hands That Heal Us to open the exhibition during London Fashion Week in February 2022.[24]

Williams won the 2021 BFC Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.[25] She was a finalist for the 2021 International Woolmark Prize.[26] She twice won the Leaders of Change: Environment Award at the 2021 and 2022 Fashion Awards.[27][28] Williams won the 2024 Fabric of Life Award for Designer of the Year.[29]

In autumn 2025, Williams' first painting exhibition titled This Wild, Achingly Beautiful Place was held at the Bethlem Gallery in South East London.[30]

Personal life

In 2013, Williams was diagnosed with the chronic illness New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH). She experienced a severe flare-up of the condition in 2022, which caused her to move back to the Isle of Man.[30]

References

  1. ^ Newbold, Alice (23 April 2019). "Bethany Williams Is Breaking Boundaries With Her Community-First, Catwalk-Second Fashion". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  2. ^ "FW19 ephemera and convo with Bethany Williams, Christopher John Rogers and Emily Adams Bode". Flaunt. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  3. ^ Turton, Sam (13 February 2018). "My Remarkable School Year - Episode 1: Bethany Williams". Gef. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Former student wins prestigious QEII Award for British Design". St Ninian's High School. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Bethany Williams". University College Isle of Man. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  6. ^ Gould, Charlotte (7 June 2021). "BA Fine Art Critical Practice graduate Bethany Williams wins top UK fashion industry's awards". University of Brighton. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Bethany Williams is boosting fashion's eco-credentials". Dazed. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  8. ^ Conlon, Scarlett (10 June 2018). "Bethany Williams: 'I love turning waste into something cool'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  9. ^ Spolini, Nicoletta (22 April 2019). "Sustainable Thinking: The latest in eco-fashion at Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence". Vogue India. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  10. ^ Alexander, Ella (18 February 2019). "Meet Bethany Williams: London Fashion Week and the Queen's design star". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  11. ^ Mower, Sarah (19 February 2019). "The Duchess of Cornwall Presents the Second Queen Elizabeth II Award for Design to Bethany Williams". Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  12. ^ van den Broeke, Teo. "Exclusive: Bethany Williams named emerging menswear talent at the Fashion Awards 2019". GQ. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  13. ^ Brown, Caroline (3 June 2019). "LVMH Prize Finalist - Bethany Williams". Office. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  14. ^ Burlet, Fleur (21 February 2019). "Vogue Italia and Yoox Celebrate Upcycling Capsule". WWD. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  15. ^ Diallo, Habi (12 June 2019). "LFWM: Bethany Williams Spring Summer 2020 Collection". Dazed. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  16. ^ Blanks, Tim (7 January 2019). "At Bethany Williams, a Fusion of Fashion and Activism". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 4 October 2025.(subscription required)
  17. ^ Singer, Olivia (26 April 2020). "How Bethany Williams Radically Reinvented Fashion As A Force For Change". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  18. ^ Sutherland, Emily (9 October 2020). "Step inside Adidas's new 'hyper-local' flagship store". Drapers. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  19. ^ Snowden, Heather (1 December 2020). "Bethany Williams Is More Than a Designer, She's an NGO". Highsnobiety. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  20. ^ Chan, Emily (19 September 2020). "Think You've Had A Productive Pandemic? Bethany Williams Can Top That". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  21. ^ Street, Chloe (14 June 2021). "Bethany Williams debuts a colourful, socially conscious collection at LFW". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  22. ^ Chan, Emily (22 February 2022). "5 Things To Know About Bethany Williams's AW22 Collection Honouring Makers". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  23. ^ Chappet, Marie-Claire (9 July 2021). "Bethany Williams unveils her first ever public artwork". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  24. ^ Whiteman-Stone, Danielle (22 February 2022). "Design Museum opens Bethany Williams exhibition". Fashion United. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  25. ^ Singer, Olivia (5 May 2021). "Bethany Williams Is The 2021 Winner Of The BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  26. ^ "Bethany Williams - Finalist". International Woolmark Prize. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  27. ^ Tilley, J (30 November 2021). "LCF alumni Nensi Dojaka and Bethany Williams take home awards at The Fashion Awards 2021". London College of Fashion. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  28. ^ Webb, Bella (5 December 2022). "Meet the Fashion Awards' 2022 sustainability 'leaders of change'". Vogue Business. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  29. ^ "Williams, Raeburn are Fabric of Life Award 2024 winners". Fashion Network. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  30. ^ a b Brahde, Rebecca (28 December 2025). "'Creating art slowly brought me back to me'". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.