BETHANY WILLIAMS

NEXT GENERATION

The young Brit showcased her final year collection in January 2016 – and just this February, Bethany Williams received the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design and was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize. A graduate of the London College of Fashion, Williams takes an extremely radical approach to design: she believes the future of high fashion lies in recycling and upcycling.

Williams tries to put sustainability at the heart of as many aspects of her streetwear collections as possible; her work is focused on tackling social, ethical and ecological issues. Each of her gender-neutral looks is produced using 100% recycled or sustainable materials. She employs homeless men and women, former female inmates and drug addicts to help turn organic cotton, discarded paper, recycled plastic and other waste materials into typical streetwear styles, such as wide-legged jeans, oversized shirts, boxy jackets and casual tops for both women and men. Her latest collection for A/W 2019, ‘Adelaide House’, was produced in collaboration with a women’s shelter in Liverpool, which will receive 20% of the profits. Vivid primary colors in a patchwork design and patterns consisting of large handmade screen prints define the looks; the abstract graphics that feature are the work of artist Giorgia Chiarion. Hand-knitted pullovers made out of thick wool, jeans and jackets crafted from organic denim, tops cut out of recycled tents, handwoven coats made from colorful strips of waste newspaper: as the producers involved in the complex manufacturing process are paid a fair wage, T-shirts retail at around 200-400 EUR; a pair of jeans costs upward of 1,100 EUR. Bethany Williams’ styles are available at retailers such as Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Nid in Tokyo as well as online at Farfetch and odd92. www.bethany-williams.com