Liberty of London

Liberty's of London. Regent Street. Liberty's of London. Regent Street.

Liberty is a large shop on Regent Street, London. It is known for selling luxury goods, including a wide range of patterned materials that are known as the Liberty Art Fabrics collection. The patterns are often known simply as 'Liberty Prints.' The shop was set up in 1875 by Arthur Liberty (1843-1917), and sold materials, ornaments and other items from Asia, especially China and Japan.

The initial interest in Japan derived from an international exhibition held in London in 1862. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Liberty also sold a wide range of embroideries and embroidered garments, especially export items made in China. The company was a major influence in the establishment of the Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic and later the Art Nouveau movements in Britain and elsewhere.

Throughout the twentieth century, Liberty's London and its subsidiaries, were an important source of high quality art textiles and garments. In 2010 it was taken over by the BlueGem Capital in a deal said to be worth £32 million.

Sources:

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 28 June 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Thursday, 27 October 2016 20:27
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