About Me
I’m Olivia, a fashion graduate from Kingston university.
Olivia Williams is a fashion design graduate specialising in menswear, womenswear, print and sustainability. In her design work she combines themes of cultural heritage, belonging and our interaction with indoor and outdoor spaces.
Studying fashion design has allowed me to visually explore historic and contemporary issues around culture, identity and how we interact with different environments. Using print and re-purposed fabrics I have explored how Caribbean communities have historically engaged with spaces within the UK and the reclamation of visibility in rural spaces within the UK through black hiking groups.
INSPIRATION
Reclaiming rural spaces: Footprints of the Diaspora
My work is inspired by the history behind black bodies being housed in urban spaces during the post war period in the UK despite often originating from countries with vast rural landscapes. I have explored this connection to indoor and outdoor environments through the Caribbean front room which was an indoor space for community and belonging and the contemporary phenomenon of black hiking groups which empowered their decedents to explore rural spaces in the UK as an act of resistance.
For this project fabrics tell a story of the interaction between indoor and outdoor spaces. I have merged outdoors materials such as tent fabric and merging this with furnishing fabrics. Making my garments in these fabrics brings this indoor sanctuary of the Caribbean Front room into the outdoors. The collection also references my grandmother's wardrobe merging garments featuring Jamaican flora with the durability of hiking wear through metal zips and fastenings and transformative elements.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Research
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - colour and fabric
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - print
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 1 development
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 2 development
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 2 development
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 3 Research
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 3 Development
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 4 Print
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Look 5 Development
Look 5 Creative Spec Drawings
Look 6 Creative Spec Drawings
‘Footprints of the Diaspora’ - Line up
Lookbook
Lookbook
Lookbook
Lookbook
Lookbook
Lookbook
DETAIL
Floral prints inspired by my grandmothers wardrobe and Jamaican flora.
I have created floral prints using stencils made using a 3D cutter by layering 3 stencils to build up details. I have used spray paint as a medium of protest, linking to my research into how protest played a fundamental role in Caribbean communities asserting our right to live in the UK in post-war Britain. The vibrant colour of the print is in reference to my grandmother’s vibrant style as well as the floral garment worn by women arriving in Britain in the 50s and 60s. The flower acts a symbol of bringing Jamaican flora into the British rural spaces and the hybridity of black British identities. The raincoat is made using waterproof fabric suitable for the outdoors. The silhouette takes inspiration from the jackets and accessories worn by West Indian women of the Windrush generation arriving in Britain.
“It was about the construction of a safe place where black people could affirm one another and by so doing heal many of the wounds inflicted by racist domination” – Bell Hooks
Graduate Fashion Week in partnership with:
