LIBERTY (continued)
In 1875, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, dissatisfied with his occupation as a warehouse manager at department store Farmers and Rogers, opened his own shop, which specialised in opulent fabrics and rugs from the Orient. After only a few years, his shop met with great success and he expanded his operation to include other international fashions and fabrics unlike any other department stores at the time. In the 1890s, instead of sourcing these fabrics from the east, the shop began printing its own designs in hand-block print quality--competing directly with William Morris.
Liberty's became an integral part of the Aesthetic Movement and, as such, attracted prestigious artistic innovators from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, and Lord Frederic Leighton.
Ever a promoter of the arts, Liberty contributed greatly to the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau Movement of the 1880s and 1890s by playing a patron role to artists. He commissioned works especially for his shop that used traditional craft techniques. One well-known artist from this time was Archibald Knox who created silver and pewter metalwork.
The affection for the decorative arts is evident throughout the store's tiny rooms of the Tudor building. Arthur Liberty wanted this building to feel like a home complete with fireplaces and bountiful decorations displayed for warmth and comfort. This atmosphere is still prevalent today with exotic rugs strategically draped, and smaller items displayed on antique tables. A large creaking wooden staircase leads customers to more rooms and floors that are open to looking over the banister to other floors. The scarf department is particularly enchanting, and the haberdashery carries delightfully ornate and opulent fabrics.
While this traditional and classical appeal is carefully cultivated, the merchandise remains on the cutting-edge and still commissions new designers to remain innovative and unique from other department stores. Liberty boasts to have its own style, and in essence their own culture, always one-step ahead of popular trends without losing its classical sensibilities.
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