LONDON — Liberty is intensifying its focus on craft, culture and community with the expansion of its fabrics department on the third floor of its flagship, which is abuzz with tourists and locals alike.
The retailer has expanded the space by 140 percent, taking over an area formerly dedicated to tableware, crockery and small home furnishings.
There are now dedicated areas for private appointments, complete with sofas, chairs and large cutting tables, and a host of added displays for the new fabric designs from the Liberty studio.
The design team is turning out 20 new, limited-edition fabrics a year, which include historic patterns that have been recolored or embellished on cotton or silk, and new sequin-embellished fabrics, silk jacquards, linens and twills.
To tempt and inspire customers, the store team has also dressed mannequins in Liberty fabric that’s been shaped and draped into evening gowns or glamorous, sparkling dresses held together with pins.
The total space, including the original fabric and haberdashery rooms, now spans nearly 5,000 square feet, with 20 team members.
(The fabric on the third floor is exclusively for clothing. Interiors fabrics are housed on the fourth floor, and also in a dedicated showroom in Chelsea.)
A look at the expanded fabrics area on Liberty’s third floor.
Stephanie O’Callaghan Photograph
During a walk-through of the space, where shop assistants were cutting the flowery fabric from rolls and advising customers, Lydia King, Liberty’s retail managing director, said the store has been listening to its customers and focusing on what it does best.
King said Liberty decided to expand the fabric space due to popular demand from local and international customers.
The expansion is also part of Liberty’s overall strategy “to focus on what we do well. Fabrics are integral to the brand, they’re in our DNA. We wanted to celebrate the category, elevate the customer experience, and show the breadth of our range,” she said, adding that the space should be a “place of discovery.”
The store said it has seen consistent growth in fabric each year, with last year’s sales up 11 percent in the London flagship. This year, following the expansion, Liberty is hoping to maintain that momentum and is forecasting sales in the second half to grow 10 percent compared with the corresponding period last year.
The store said the expansion made sense financially. While fabric accounts for about 14 percent of the total store margin, it previously had 7 percent of the store footprint.
The new room sits to the right of the original fabric room, which now has more space to stock Liberty’s famous Tana Lawn cotton fabrics and silks.
The old space is also home to the store’s bestselling prints, including Prospect Road, which is based on a 1968 design showcasing traditional Art Nouveau landscapes, and Carline Rose, which is covered with scattered, full-blown blooms.
One of Liberty’s windows by Miranda Sinclair.
The original room also has mannequins showing off fashion-forward outfits from the winners of the Liberty Fabrics x Graduate Fashion Foundation Competition, with lots of lovely clashing patterns and textures.
Next door is a vast haberdashery, with sewing kits, yarns, buttons, quilt patches and threads merchandised in colorful heaps on tables and along walls. Going forward, Liberty plans to host workshops in the space.
Liberty is marking the opening this week with fabric installations by Miranda Sinclair, the creative director, set designer and interior stylist. Her designs are on the shop floor and in the windows of Liberty, which is located in London’s Soho.
The space had a soft opening on Monday, and King said it was the most successful day in the history of the department, with sales 35 percent above target. The demographic is broad, with multiple generations shopping together, and some young girls buying fabric for their first sewing projects.
The Prospect Road print.
The expansion of fabrics is part of an ongoing refurbishment and reorganization of the store to reflect new trends and changing shopping patterns.
Last year, Liberty opened a concept space called The Beauty Studio with three indie brands, Violette_FR, Grown Alchemist and Vyrao, which see beauty and fragrance as a path to well-being.
Liberty described the space as a place “where artistry meets science, and where beauty becomes a tool for transformation — of mood, energy and self-expression.”
King said there is more change on the way. In the fall, Liberty will unveil a dedicated gifting space, with chocolate, stationery, books and candles on the fourth floor. The Christmas shop will also live in the fourth-floor space.
The large ground-floor jewelry space, meanwhile, will double in size with a host of exclusives arriving. Already this year, Foundrae and the British jewelers Cece and Lucy Delius have arrived as exclusives. King said Maria Tash, the piercing and jewelry brand that anchors the space, has had a record year.
Lydia King
Courtesy
Liberty was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875 and has always been a vast curiosity shop selling ornaments, fabrics, furniture and art from around the world.
The mock Tudor building where it’s housed today was built in 1924 from the timbers of two ancient battleships. It has 1,550 windows, many of them set with reclaimed stained glass from the 12th century. A protected landmark, the building was restored fully in 2020.
