september-2011

Saddled with its unfashionable reputation, Liberty
had struggled for decades, but these changes quickly
bore fruit: the shop has out-performed many of its rivals
over the past few years. Its performance during this time
is particularly impressive given not only the recession
but also the fact that it came as the shop was being
refurbished from top to bottom, a £10m, six-month refi t
– dubbed a “renaissance” – that saw the addition of new
departments for shoes, lingerie and menswear, new
restaurants, a striking new cosmetics department on the
ground fl oor, and a more easily navigable interior. The
business was recently bought by venture capitalists Blue
Gem Capital for £32m.
The new cosmetics department provides a clean and
stylish entrance to the shop from its front door on Great
Marlborough Street, while further inside the shop stocks
many of the best fashion designers around, from
Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith to Alexander
McQueen and Helmut Lang, as well as promoting new
designers such as Iceland’s Kalda and New York’s Tucker.
The store also hosts a Best of British Open Day,
encouraging young British designers in all areas – from
ceramics and clothes to furniture and silverware – to
come forward with their creations. But the biggest
success has been Liberty’s own range of printed fabrics,
which have been better promoted in the store and sold
more as a result. This seems appropriate: fabrics have
always been at the centre of the Liberty story.
The store was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, a
draper from Buckinghamshire, who began importing
clothes from Japan and the East in the 1860s. In 1875,
he opened a shop on Regent Street selling silk, fans and
furniture. Artists such as Edward Burne-Jones, Dante
Gabriel Rossetti and James Whistler patronised Liberty
to purchase clothes for their models and furniture for
their homes, and Oscar Wilde was another regular.
By the 1890s, Liberty was at the centre of the
aesthetic and arts and craft s movements that celebrated
84 metropolitan
traditional methods of craft smanship and decoration.
This ethos was promoted by Liberty’s fabrics division,
which sold fabrics by leading English designers like
William Godwin and William Morris, which could be
used to make dresses, shirts and furniture covers.
Beautifully designed fabrics have been a major part of
Liberty ever since.
“LIBERTY’S HERITAGE
IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN
FABRICS. IT IS AT THE
CORE AND THE HEART
OF THE BUSINESS”
As Burstell explains, “Liberty’s heritage has always
been deeply rooted in fabrics. It is at the core and heart
of the entire business and is recognised widely the world
over. Fabrics and Liberty printed products contribute the
most substantial percentage of our turnover.”
Emma Mawston is head of design at Liberty Art
Fabrics, and is responsible for the production of two
themed collections of fabrics each year. These
collections each consist of 40 unique patterns and
designs that are printed on fabric and sold by the length
to be made into anything from clothes to cushion covers.
This autumn’s collection is called Liberty Rocks as it
features designs created by musicians or infl uenced by
classic album sleeves.
“Everybody has always associated Liberty prints with
small fl oral patterns,” says Mawston. “It’s good to have an
identity because at least that means people are aware of
you, but I always wanted to explore other fi elds. I loved the
aesthetes and how inventive they were, and knew how
connected they were with Liberty. So now we keep trying
to push the boundaries, to do something we haven’t done