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Fashion (MA)

Beth Williams

a small amount of flax yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with mustard leaf growing out of it in random directions

Beth Williams is a disabled multi-disciplinary artist who specialises in Knitwear, Living Textiles and Soft Sculpture. Their practice centres around their experience of an inaccessible world, as well as the relationship between human and environmental sustainability. They were recently spotlighted by Dazed & Confused: 'Dazed and Discovered'; and exhibited work during London Design Festival 2022 as part of the Human Resources exhibition.

After graduating from Central Saint Martins, where they studied Fashion Design with Knitwear, Beth struggled to find a place for their practice to flourish. Their work at the RCA has focused on carving a space for themselves in the industry and expanding that space by starting to build a community around it. Their living textiles and garments grows alongside them, collaborating together to question the status quo.


Beth’s practice is in the present,

their work speaks to the future.

It can be confusing but also magical,

but most of all it is theirs. 

Degree Details

School of DesignFashion (MA)BioRCA2023 at Battersea and Kensington

RCA Battersea, Studio Building, Ground and First floors

me, white tattooed person, holding rectangle growing crochet sample over chest. sample framing lotus unalome tattoo, torso shot

My practice started from a place of frustration. Existing as a disabled person within the creative industry can be so difficult. Accessibility and sustainability issues are often seen as distinct but to them they are one and the same. Fashion can be just as unkind to the people within it as it is to the planet. 

As a form of protest I created a series of yarns and textiles designed for their afterlife. They’re compostable and growable, they give back to the earth. They completely bypass being worn by humans. This series poses the question: is the most accessible piece of clothing the one that is entirely inaccessible to all? 

Upon this series, that I named ‘Afterlife’, I began to create my own world. A gentle, caring, compassionate world of living textiles. I cannot control my living pieces. They would grow and live for as long as they want, forcing me respect the natural flow of nature and slow myself down. Allowing me time to analyse the past, be present in the now, and evaluate the future.

No world is complete without a community, I have already started to invite people into mine. I have a privileged position to access information, research and explore new techniques. I have the time and space to experiment and find ways processes can be done in the comfort of peoples home, on a budget. Many disabled people are not so lucky. This is why it is so important for me to share my process. My soft sculptures represent the importance I place on community, and including those who often feel forgotten.

As collaborate with non human life, many of my experiments are unsuccessful but I learn something from each failure. I carry that knowledge throughout my practice whilst searching for awe in nature. My practise is lot like my compost bin. I work through all the waste and “crap” in order for new life to blossom. 


My practice and my Life is like Compost.

I will grow.

sketchbook page. left: full page of writing. Right: half page from notebook
experiment set up and method with two results on right side of page
 
small amount of wool/silk yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 1
small amount of wool yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 2
small amount of wool/silk yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 3
small amount of flax yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 4
small amount of silk yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 5
small amount of wool/silk yarn placed in the centre of a plain background with plants growing out of it in random directions
growable and compostable test yarn no. 6

Afterlife: Living Yarns

Yarns designer entirely for their afterlife.

Yarns for garments that are designed to be discarded.

Yarns designed to bypass human use.

Yarns designed to pose the question: is the most accessible piece of clothing the one that is entirely inaccessible to all?

rectangle pre grown crochet sample on kitchen towel
tattooed hands holding moving, growing, crochet sample against plain wall
crocheted hand on left side. sketchbook collage of crochet hand and my hand on right.
large photo of un grown hands top on white tattooed person on left, smaller images of top on dress hand on right.

The ‘Hands’ Top

The first living crocheted garment in the Non Humanwear: Afterlife series, made from the hand spun growable yarn I’ve developed.


The goal for this piece was to design a garment that would go straight to landfill. Both designer and fast fashion discard garments before they ever go onto a human body, a large percentage of them land up finding their way to landfill. On top of that accessibility is rarely considered when designing clothing.

In protest I wanted to design materials and garments that are entirely inaccessible to all humans. that were designed entirely for the afterlife, to provide an environment where non human life can thrive, and to have little environmental impact when composting in landfill.

crocheted growing plant top on dress stand, with ties at side against plain wall. stand faced forward but angled.
crocheted growing plant top on dress stand, with ties at side against plain wall. stand faced back but angled.
two sketchbook close ups. left: life is like compost text; right: moss people collage
top row: paper making progress; middle row: progress of paper growing; bottom row: two samples of fully grown paper
left: knitted pocket sample with plants growing out of it; right: development of sample into vest.
progress of vests growth

The ‘Compost’ Vest

Born from my frustration. 

I grew weary of the inaccessibility of the creative industry. Working with humans did not bring me half as much joy as working with my living textiles.

Growing alongside my work is both enlightening and slightly terrifying.

Carl Sagan put it best: ‘Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder and awe.’
growing plants knitted vest top on dress stand, stand facing forward
two images of growing plants knitted vest top on dress stand. left angled to front; right angled to back
sketchbook close up. left has writing about nature; right collage of spirals in nature.
growth progress of uzumaki skirt

The ‘Uzumaki’ Skirt

 Spiralling into the joy of creating again. 

A free form crochet skirt made with my growable hand spun yarn, organic merino and silk.

This piece has now been composted in my textile bin and has been used to plant a crop of sunflowers. Completing its life cycle and giving me a new level of fulfilment with my practice. 


Growing alongside my work;

Carving out a space for myself;

I will bloom.

Uzumaki Skirt: asymmetric living crochet skirt on bottom of draw stand, face on against plain background
two images of uzmukai skirt, left: back of skirt angled towards left side; right: back of skirt
Uzumaki skirt close up of lace stitch spiral motif on back of skirt
Uzumaki skirt close up of lace stitch spiral motif on back of skirt

Medium:

free form crochet skirt made with my growable hand spun yarn, organic merino and silk.
biodegradablebiodesignbiomaterialcompostablecrochetfashionknittingknitwearplantssustainabilitysustainable-fashiontextile
sketchbook page: collage of honeycomb, and asanoha/hemp leaf patterns
symbiosis top on stand, 10 days into growth, tears can be seen.
progress of symbiosis top growing, shows roots stabilising paper

The ‘Symbosis’ Top

Crocheted growable paper made from old sketchbooks and scrap fabric and fibre; organic silk and wool; added wheatgrass to stabilise paper.

An exploration into how the nature of a material can change by leaning into particular plants root properties.

fully grown symbiosis top on dress stand, angled to the right. Made of crocheted paper with plants growing out of it.
final symbiosis top; fully grown on dress stand against plain bckground.
sketchbook double spread. left: text saying 'life is like compost'; right: mushroom collage
images showing development of top and growth of mushrooms on top
close up of final mushroom growth that was cultivated on top.

The ‘Life is like Compost’ top.

Pink oyster mushrooms colonised and cultivated on hand spun, hand dyed lotus flower fibre crochet top.

Playing with fungi and how the consume cellulose to grow. An experiment with how textile waste can be consumed rather than discarded. 

One species' waste is another's food.

Crocheted letter tie top on dress stand with pink oyster mushrooms growing sporadically out of it.
 
Living Garments in Motion

Medium:

pink oyster mushrooms cultivated on crocheted lotus yarn slogan top
biodegradablebiodesignbiomaterialcompostablecrochetfashionfungiknitwearliving-materialsmushroommyceliumtextile
pencil drawing of a head and shoulder. head shattered off above nose. writing on lined paper saying: nothing about us without us
left: mixed media two headed 'fight or flight; soft sculpture; right: anxiety drawing that sculpture is based on.
white tattooed person sitting in a garden hold a piece of white felt with several types of plants growing on it
left:close up of sample, taken from above. laying on wooden table. crescent patterns of plants can be seen; right: felt figure
left: tattooed hand holding felt figure with plants growing out of it; right: mixed media sculpture of not quite human figure

Survivors Offering; growable felt

In less than two years I’ve gone from a person who didn’t want to live, to an artist who yearns to be surrounded with life. 

I’m growing my range of living textiles through lot of trial and error. After learning to process raw fleeces, felted pieces seemed like inevitable addition. It's a joy to have even more control over the environmental impact of my practice by processing fibre myself.


My “not quite human” figures represent the community I value you so much.

I am You;

and You are Me.

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Royal College of Art

Registered Office: Royal College of Art,
Kensington Gore, South Kensington,
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