Manx designer inspired by island's folklore and history

An artist and designer from the Isle of Man has used the island's history, folklore and heritage as inspiration for a new collection featured in British Vogue.

Bethany Williams, from Douglas, built her career in sustainable fashion in London before returning to the island to recover from a chronic illness.

Since moving back, she has reconnected with her roots, drawing on Manx culture and traditions in her latest designs.

She said: "I kind of had two separate worlds. It's been really nice with this project to bring them both together."

The 16-piece collection transforms discarded clothing into wearable artworks, combining Williams's own paintings with crochet, patchwork and traditional Manx craft techniques.

Called The Light We Carry, Williams said the collection explores how light changes through the seasons, as well as the light people carry within themselves.

"Light exists within all of us, even if sometimes it feels distant or dimmed. It can be something that we can be guided back to," she said.

In 2013, Williams was diagnosed with new daily persistent headache (NDPH), a condition that causes severe facial and head pain. After a period of remission, it returned in 2022 with more severe symptoms, leaving her bedbound.

During her recovery on the Isle of Man, Williams was drawn back to painting the Manx landscape, something she had not done since studying for a foundation degree at University College Isle of Man.

The 36-year-old said: "I felt like the landscape of the Isle of Man really brought me back to myself."

"I felt like that has been a really integral part for me, being in nature."

Williams also drew on her family history when developing the collection, using the shapes and silhouettes of clothes passed down from her great-great-grandparents, including a dress dating from the 1920s.

"I was looking at how love never leaves, it just changes form," she said.

Featured in British Vogue, the collection marks a return to fashion for Williams, whose experience of chronic illness has changed both her outlook on life and her approach to making art.

Reflecting on her illness and reconnection with the Isle of Man, she said she was now "making work that's maybe more personal to me... about the human experience".

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