Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall presents award to Bethany Williams at close of London Fashion Week 2019

The young designer won the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Bethany Williams surrounded by models
Darren Gerrish
Emma McCarthy20 February 2019

One of the capital’s most promising future talents Bethany Williams brought the curtain down on London Fashion Week yesterday with a collection dedicated to sparking positive change within the industry.

The bright young talent, who was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at yesterday’s showcase, chose her debut appearance on the schedule to make a statement about the housing crisis.

Working together with TIH Models - a unique talent agency which creates paid opportunities for individuals currently sleeping rough on the streets of London by casting them in campaigns and fashion shows at market standard rates - Williams enlisted two homeless models to join Adwoa Aboah on the catwalk.

The designer has also pledged to donate 20 per cent of the profits from next season’s collection to Adelaide House - a women’s shelter in Liverpool that provides refuge for domestic abuse survivors and prison-leavers - when it goes on sale later this year.

Bethany Williams AW19 show, London Fashion Week
REUTERS

Her offering of streetwear with a social conscious is also crafted from recycled and organic materials. This season, Williams worked alongside The Echo Newspaper in Liverpool to utilise their waste product, while also joining forces with the San Patrignano rehabilitation programme in Italy, which teaches traditional craft to people with drug dependency. Through this collaboration, Williams has taken waste from books and surplus from Italian mills and fashioned them into entirely new fabrics which appeared on the catwalk yesterday in the form of unisex tailoring and patchwork athleisure.

Camila, Duchess of Cornwall (C), Edward Enninful, Editor of Vogue UK (R) and Justine Picardie (L) watch a Bethany Williams show during London Fashion Week 2019
EPA

The jersey pieces in her collections were constructed in conjunction with the London College of Fashion’s Making for Change programme, which supports the training of women in Downview Prison, while knitwear was created using dead stock yarn. In addition, the denim was originally sourced from a recycling facility.

Praising the designer’s production process, the Duchess of Cornwall highlighted Williams’ ability to “bring ideas and people together and put change for the good at the heart of her business.”

The Duchess of Cornwall presenting the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design to Bethany Williams
PA

Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council added: “Bethany’s work not only has a strong sustainable ethos, but she is committed to supporting hard to reach members of society, create opportunities for them that add long-term real value through the development of both creative and life skills."