PORTFOLIO
Who I am as a Designer
Ruth Burns
I’m a graduate textile designer with a passion for fashion and trends. My work blends visual research and creative design, grounded in a keen eye for color and contemporary direction. As a member of the Glasgow-based artists' collective LIVID3, I've honed my collaborative communication skills through exhibitions and interdisciplinary projects.
I also founded BURNS TEXTILES, translating my graduate collection into an independent brand, where I managed design processes and engage with markets via exhibitions, pop-ups, and online sales. I thrive in fast-paced environments, balancing creativity with a strong organizational focus. Proficient in Adobe Suite, particularly Illustrator, I'm excited to bring my research and design skills to support a dynamic fashion team.
UNMASKED
2025 GRADUATE COLLECTION
PROTEST TEXTILES THROUGH THE LENS OF PUNK IDEOLOGIES
Problem
The project addresses the challenge of conveying collective identity within resistance movements, particularly through the lens of youth culture and punk ideologies. It seeks to explore how art and activism intersect, using the symbolism of protest textiles, notably the balaclava, to highlight personal expression and communal resilience in the face of societal issues.
Process
UNMASKED unfolds through a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating self-portraiture, photography, and print design. The project is divided into three mini-collections, each influenced by politically charged music from notable punk artists. These collections focus on different themes: allyship and youth-led activism (Kneecap), identity and discontent (Fontaines D.C.), and feminist protest and craft (Amyl and the Sniffers). Through these inspirations, the project explores how art can amplify voices within activism.
Result
The culmination of UNMASKED includes a range of crafted items such as crochet balaclavas, printed scarves, banners, and zines. Each piece is infused with themes of defiance, identity, and collective action, serving as both artistic expression and tools for activism. This outcome not only reflects the vibrant legacy of punk aesthetics but also encourages community engagement in contemporary resistance movements.
THERE ARE NO SPECTATORS
‘THERE ARE NO SPECTATORS’ is the first strand in my series of mini collections, centred on allyship, visibility, and collective responsibility in activism. This body of work draws from the visual language of protest—specifically the Palestinian keffiyeh—as a symbol of resistance, reimagined through large-scale printed scarves. Taking influence from the Irish rap group kneecap in their unwavering commitment to visibility in activism, the collection explores how creative expression can confront silence and complicity. It asks how institutions shape our understanding of justice, and how collective action can reclaim space, truth, and voice. This strand asserts that to remain neutral is to be complicit in oppression.
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DON'T JUST WATCH WHILE THE GAFF BURNS DOWN
‘DON’T JUST WATCH WHILE THE GAFF BURNS DOWN’ explores punk as a visual and political tool for expressing disillusionment, class identity, and resistance. Taking inspiration from Fontaines D.C., this collection uses self-portraiture and protest textiles—particularly balaclavas—to question who is allowed to speak out, and at what cost. Set against the backdrop of institutional failure and the erosion of protest rights, it reclaims anger as a creative force. Neon tones and punk aesthetics reflect both urgency and defiance, while poetry and textiles become mediums for protest. This strand honours punk’s enduring power to challenge authority and be radically
visible in protest.
A WOMAN'S PLACE IS AT WAR
‘A WOMAN’S PLACE IS AT WAR’ closes the collection by honouring women’s role in intersectional protest and the use of textiles as a distinctly feminist tool of resistance. Influenced by Amyl and the Sniffers, this strand explores how fashion, punk, and performance intersect to reject patriarchal norms. Through bold colour, handmade protest garments, and references to the visual language of punk, it channels the energy of feminine rage into textile-based protest. The collection reframes visibility and vulnerability, using the balaclava as both shield and symbol—reclaiming the female body as a site of power, defiance, and political imagination.
BURNS TEXTILES
Through my graduate collection, I established BURNS TEXTILES, an independent brand that gained early traction through multiple releases of T-shirts, printed scarves, and balaclavas. Rooted in the themes of my collection, the brand extends my practice into a commercial context while maintaining a strong conceptual identity.
This experience has allowed me to develop both creative and entrepreneurial skills, from production to audience engagement. Since graduating, I have continued to exhibit and sell my work through involvement with the LIVID3 collective, as well as at pop-up sales across Edinburgh, London, and Glasgow, alongside an online presence via BURNSTEXTILES.COM and Instagram.
This section displays my versatility in my broader portfolio of work across; screen print, garment construction, high level of artistic skill, work with sustainable materials and more.
