Alternative Systems opens at the Design Museum

The Design Museum has unveiled an exhibition highlighting London-based designer Bethany Williams' waste-reducing, social-driven vision for the fashion business.

Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems, on display in the atrium of London's Design Museum, is a celebration of Williams' work that analyzes and reacts to societal concerns via the use of community-led enrichment initiatives.

A selection of the designer's influential works was exhibited across the four walls of the atrium's balcony gallery, which is open to the public.

Mannequins are presented with textile samples, photos, and raw waste materials to emphasize the studio's dedication to sustainable fashion.

"I decided to organize the display thematically rather than by collection," said Design Museum's head of curatorial and interpretation Priya Khanchandani.

Williams is a fashion designer, humanitarian and artist. She graduated from Brighton University with a bachelor's degree in Critical Fine Art before receiving a master's from the London College of Fashion in Menswear.

She launched her eponymous brand in 2017 and has worked to highlight and respond to social and environmental concerns via her work, which includes collaborations with local grassroots organizations and the production of collections from waste materials.

Willliams' work as a member of the Emergency Designer Network is shown in one exhibit area. The project was created with designers Phoebe English, Cozette McCreery, and Holly Fulton.

During the peak of the coronavirus epidemic, the group of creatives, with their textile manufacturing experience and volunteer teams, manufactured 12,000 scrubs, 100,000 masks, and 4,000 gowns for frontline healthcare personnel.

Waste from packaging tape sourced from Rimini, Italy was weaved and turned into usable products and outfits as part of Williams's on-display Autumn Winter 2018 collection.

Each season, the fashion studio cooperates with various local charities and grassroots projects, donating a percentage of its sales to their respective causes.

The opening of Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems coincided with the presentation of Williams' Autumn Winter 2022 collection, titled The Hands that Heal Us, at the museum.

The collection included a cactus leather jacket and clothes manufactured from recycled and organic-based denim with detachable metal hardware that aids in recycling at the end of its life.