Katie Allen is a farmer, knitwear designer and maker based at Great Cotmarsh Farm in Wiltshire.
Katie became an RSA Fellow in 2021 after winning the RSA Student Design Award for her soil‑to‑soil knitwear collection. She champions regenerative agriculture, showing that fashion’s origins can begin on the farm.
While studying for her MA in Fashion & Textiles at Bath Spa University, Katie was named joint winner of the RSA Student Design Award’s ‘Material World’ brief with her fully traceable knitwear collection.
Part of her prize was the opportunity to join the RSA Fellowship. Since then, being affiliated with RSA has validated and amplified her work and introduced her to a network of peers equally committed to ecological innovation.
In 2023, Katie acted as a judge for the RSA Bicentenary Medal, evaluating projects rooted in regenerative practice.
Since becoming a Fellow, Katie’s work has evolved significantly, furthering her ambition to reconnect people with the origins of their clothes. Her knitwear is designed in her studio on the family’s organic farm, using fibre from their flock of sheep, and dyed using colour developed in their botanical dye garden. Great Cotmarsh Farm is also working with the Woodland Trust to plant over 6,500 trees and one kilometre of hedgerow as part of their agroforestry scheme.
I’ve chosen to renew my Fellowship because I really believe in what the RSA stands for. If I see someone on LinkedIn who is working within interesting regenerative design fields and they’re also a Fellow, I think to myself, there’s someone who is committed to similar values. I know it’s a valuable community to be part of.
A new farm classroom welcomes primary school pupils, degree‑level textiles students and members of the farming community to hands‑on workshops in regenerative food, fashion and rural craft practices, giving them the chance to really reconnect with the land and rural communities.
Katie credits her Fellowship with helping her develop exciting partnerships with several regional art and design colleges.
While she admits that work to engage with some of the larger urban institutions continues, she recognises that her Fellowship status has opened doors and amplified her farm‑to‑garment message.
Become an RSA Fellow today and join a thriving network of changemakers.
Katie Allen, an award-winning knitwear designer and RSA Fellow, champions regenerative fashion from her Wiltshire farm. Her soil-to-soil knitwear uses homegrown fibres and natural dyes, connecting fashion to sustainable agriculture. Since winning the RSA Student Design Award, she’s expanded her work through partnerships, workshops, and education, amplified by the RSA Fellowship’s network and support for ecological innovation.
Encouraging entrepreneurship
Now RSA Spark, the RSA’s Student Design Awards has a 100-year legacy of celebrating the ideas of young social innovators.
As a Fellow, you will expand your community, be inspired by new ideas and have access to innovative future-focused research.
Find out about the RSA medal awarded annually to individuals for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of design in industry and society.
Learn more about Fellowship. We value all who champion curiosity, creativity and courage to inspire better ways of thinking, acting and delivering change.
