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Liberty (department store)

Coordinates:51°30′50″N0°08′25″W/ 51.5139°N 0.1402°W/51.5139; -0.1402
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Liberty Retail Limited
Company typePrivate limited company
IndustryRetail
Founded1875;149 years ago(1875)
(incorporated in 1894)[1]
FounderArthur Lasenby Liberty
HeadquartersLondon,W1
United Kingdom[1]
ProductsLuxury goods
OwnerGlendower Capital (c. 40%)[2]
ParentLiberty Limited[3]
Websitewww.libertylondon

Liberty,commonly known asLiberty's,is a luxurydepartment storeinLondon,England. It is located onGreat Marlborough Streetin theWest End of London.The building spans fromCarnaby Streeton the East toKingly Streeton the West, where it forms a three storey archway over the Northern entrance to the Kingly Street mall that houses theLiberty Clockin its centre. Liberty is known around the world for its close connection to art and culture, but it is most famous for its bold and floral print fabrics. The vastmock-Tudorstore also sells men's, women's and children's fashion, beauty and homewares from a mix of high-end and emerging brands and labels.

The store is known to spot and champion young designers at the start of their careers, and many now-prominent brands were first available at Liberty. The store played essential role in spreading and popularizing theModern Style.This continues Liberty's long reputation for working with British artists and designers. Liberty’s makes a cameo appearance inEnola Holmes.

History

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Early history

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View fromArgyll Street.

Arthur Lasenby Libertywas born inChesham,Buckinghamshire,in 1843. He was employed by Messrs Farmer & Rogers inRegent Streetin 1862,[4]the year of theInternational Exhibition.By 1874, rejected for a partnership, and imbued by his 10 years experience, he decided to start a business of his own. With a £2,000 loan from his future father-in-law, in 1875, he accepted the lease of half a shop at 218a Regent Street with three staff members.

The shop sold ornaments, fabric andobjets d'art’’, especiallyfrom Japanand the East. Within eighteen months, he had repaid the loan and acquired the second half of 218 Regent Street. As the business grew, neighbouring properties were bought and added.[5]In 1884, he introduced the costume department, directed byEdward William Godwin(1833–1886), a distinguished architect and a founding member ofThe Costume Society.He and Arthur Liberty created in-house apparel to challenge the fashions of Paris.

In 1885, 142–144 Regent Street was acquired and housed the ever-increasing demand for carpets and furniture. The basement was named the Eastern Bazaar, and it was the vending place for what was described as "decorative furnishing objects". He named the property Chesham House, after the place in which he grew up. The store became the most fashionable place to shop in London, and Liberty fabrics were used for both clothing and furnishings.

Liberty art fabrics advertisement, May 1888

In November 1885, Liberty brought forty-two villagers from India to stage a living village of Indian artisans. Liberty's specialised in Oriental goods, in particular imported Indian silks, and the aim of the display was to generate both publicity and sales for the store.[6]In 1889,Oscar Wilde,a regular client of the store, wrote "Liberty's is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper".[7]

During the 1890s, Liberty built strong relationships with many English designers. Many of these designers, includingArchibald Knox,practised the artistic styles known asArts and CraftsandArt Nouveau,and Liberty helped develop Art Nouveau through his encouragement of such designers. The company became associated with this new style, to the extent that in Italy, Art Nouveau became known as theStile Liberty,after the London shop.

1920s

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TheTudor revivalbuilding was built so that trading could continue while renovations were being completed on the other premises, and in 1924, this store was constructed from the timbers of two ships:HMSImpregnable(formerly HMSHowe) andHMSHindustan.The frontage onGreat Marlborough Streetis the same length as theHindustan.It became a Grade II*listed buildingin 1972.[8]

The emporium was designed byEdwin Thomas Halland his son, Edwin Stanley Hall. They designed the building at the height of the 1920s fashion forTudorrevival. The shop was engineered around three light wells that formed the main focus of the building. Each of these wells was surrounded by smaller rooms to create a homey feel. Many of the rooms had fireplaces and some still exist.

The architectural historianNikolaus Pevsnerwas very critical of the building's architecture, saying: "The scale is wrong, the symmetry is wrong. The proximity to a classical façade put up by the same firm at the same time is wrong, and the goings-on of a store behind such a façade (and below those twisted Tudor chimneys) are wrongest of all".[9]

Arthur Liberty died in 1917, seven years before the completion of his shops.

Post-war

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Liberty, during the 1950s, continued its tradition for fashionable and eclectic design. All departments in the shop had a collection of both contemporary and traditional designs. New designers were promoted and often included those still representing the Liberty tradition for handcrafted work.

In 1955, Liberty began opening several regional stores in other UK cities; the first of these was inManchester.[10]Subsequent shops opened inBath,Brighton,Chester,York,Kingston upon Thames,ExeterandNorwich.

During the 1960s, extravagant and Eastern influences once again became fashionable, as well as theArt Decostyle, and Liberty adapted its furnishing designs from its archive.

In 1996, Liberty announced the closure of its twenty shops outside London, and instead focused on smaller outlets at airports.[10]

Since 1988, Liberty has had a subsidiary inJapanwhich sells Liberty-branded products in major Japanese shops. It also sells Liberty fabrics to international and local fashion stores with bases in Japan.

2000s

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Liberty's London store was sold for £41.5million (equivalent to £70.3 million in 2023) and then leased back by the firm in 2009, to pay off debts ahead of a potential sale of the company.[11]Subsequently, in 2010, Liberty was taken over byprivate equityfirm BlueGem Capital, in a deal worth £32million (equivalent to £51.8 million in 2023).[12]

TV documentary

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From 2 December 2013, Liberty was the focus of a three-part hour-long episode TV documentary series titledLiberty of London,airing onChannel 4.[13][14]The documentary follows Ed Burstell (Managing Director) and the department's retail team in the busy lead up to Christmas 2013.[13]

Channel 4 further commissioned a second series of the documentary on 28 October 2014. This series featured four, one hour-long episodes based on six months worth of unprecedented footage. Series two commenced on 12 November 2014.[15]

Collaborations

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Liberty has a history of collaborative projects – fromWilliam MorrisandDante Gabriel Rossettiin the nineteenth century toYves Saint Laurentand DameVivienne Westwoodin the twentieth century. Recent collaborations include brands such asScott Henshall,Nike,Dr. Martens,Hello Kitty,Barbour,House of Hackney,Vans,Onia,Manolo Blahnik,Uniqlo,J.Crew,Superga,TargetandT. M. Lewin.

See also

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References and sources

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References
  1. ^ab"Liberty Retail Limited".Companies House.Retrieved28 November2020.
  2. ^"Private equity cashes in on Liberty with £300m sale".The Financial Times.19 July 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2022.Retrieved28 November2020.
  3. ^"Persons with significant control".Companies House.Retrieved28 November2020.
  4. ^Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter (2005).Design of the 20th Century(25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. p. 418.ISBN9783822840788.OCLC809539744.
  5. ^Iarocci, L.,Visual Merchandising: The Image of Selling,Ashgate Publishing, 2013, pp. 120–128
  6. ^"Gossamer | Made in England".Gossamer.Retrieved17 June2020.
  7. ^Wilde, Oscar (1889).The Woman's World..., Volume 2.Cassell and Company. p. 6.
  8. ^Premises of Messrs Liberty and Company Limited (Tudor building) | Grade II* listed building1357064
  9. ^Bridget CherryandNikolaus Pevsner(1973).The Buildings of England– London 1: The Cities of London and Westminster(third ed.). London:Penguin Books.p. 579.ISBN0-14-0710-12-4.
  10. ^abBlanchard, Tamsin (13 June 1996)."Has Liberty finally lost the thread?".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2022.Retrieved30 May2013.
  11. ^Fletcher, Nick (15 March 2010)."Retailer Liberty agrees sale of flagship store for £41.5m".The Guardian.Retrieved30 May2013.
  12. ^Kollewe, Julia (28 June 2010)."Liberty's new owner sets out plans for growth".The Guardian.Retrieved30 May2013.
  13. ^abJones, Nina (20 December 2013)."'Liberty of London' a Hit in the U.K. "WWD.Retrieved20 December2013.
  14. ^"Liberty of London".Channel 4.2 December 2013.Retrieved9 December2013.
  15. ^"Liberty of London – Series 2".Channel 4. 28 October 2014.Retrieved6 November2014.
Sources

Alison Adburgham,Liberty's – A biography of a shop,George Allen and Unwin (1975)

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51°30′50″N0°08′25″W/ 51.5139°N 0.1402°W/51.5139; -0.1402