Bethany Williams Wins 2021 BFC / Vogue Designer Fashion Fund
Wed 5 May
Once again, the finalists for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund showcase the groundbreaking work that the £200,000 award has always celebrated. This year, though, there is a newly introspective mood, as designers consider more deeply the industry itself and its wider responsibilities. Olivia Singer introduces 2021’s winner, and the shortlist of rising stars shaping the future of fashion with a shared moral imperative as well as their own unique aesthetics.
Bethany Williams – winner
Bethany Williams has reconfigured what fashion’s relationship with philanthropy and sustainability could look like by structuring the foundations of her business as a social enterprise. Building long-term partnerships with grassroots organisations, spotlighting issues ranging from homelessness to the prison system while raising much-needed funds for charities working in these areas, or training marginalised communities in new skills, she is modelling a new vision of environmental responsibility and community engagement. “As designers, we are problem-solvers,” she explains. “We want to provide an alternative system for fashion production, as we believe fashion’s reflection upon the world can create positive change.”
Photo – Charlotte Wales
Styling – Poppy Kain