Liberty & Co London

A calming break from the brash clamour of Oxford Street
Liberty & Co London picture

Liberty London. It’s as English as wet summers, red buses and hot buttered toast – yet it is surprising how many people neglect this national landmark. Sitting on Great Marlborough Street, just behind Oxford Circus tube, Liberty is noticeable for its mock Tudor facade, standing in striking refinement among the other buildings.

Still billed as ‘one of the greatest emporiums for innovative and eclectic design’, Liberty is a living relic of a London past, a London of quality, fussiness and upper class values. As this, it is a fascinating concept, giving an insight on our legacy of lavish living; the good, the bad and the downright absurd.

The store was founded in 1875, by Arthur Liberty. After 10 years working in the industry, Liberty borrowed £2000 from his future father in law and leased out part of a building on Regents Street. His dream was to collect rarified products with a focus on value and integrity. Much of what went on sale was sourced abroad, from Japan and the East, giving the store an exotic edge from the start. Liberty’s concept took off immediately: 18 months in, he’d repaid his loan and had enough to lease out the second half of the building.

By the 1880s, Liberty had soared to the top of London’s fashionable scene. His store was frequented by those in the Pre Raphaelite movement, and he was forming strong connections with eminent designers. Many of these designers were part of the Art Nouveau movement and in his encouragement of them, Liberty became a key part of the development of this scene.

The distinctive tutor building came in 1924. It is constructed from the timber of the HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan, designed by father and son Edwin T. Hall and Edwin S. Hall. The aim was to give the store a homely feel, with separate spaces, fireplaces and plenty of room to hang the elaborate fabrics.

Today, Liberty still very much has its finger on the pulse of the fashion world. For a place with a natural potential to become stuck in the past, it has rallied to the twenty-first century resulting in a rich hybrid of old and new. Currently in the throws of Men’s fashion week, the buying team are hot to the chase, throwing out live tweets about what to wear in summer 2013. The fourth floor of the store is currently awash with the RE lifestyle collection – a landscape of beach huts and biodegradable picnic ware. The store also has links with London’s other top cultural places. As well as links with the Royal Academy, not long ago the V&A featured an exhibition of past Liberty designs, and the Liberty Head of Visual Identity was part of the judge panel at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

Alongside this, the traditional aspects are still going strong. It’s still the place to go for expensive scarves, luxury furnishings, indulgent cosmetics and overpriced plants. The famous Liberty print fabric remains a salient feature. Largely, a plaque honoring David Bowie’s fictional character Ziggy Stardust has been installed near the store, Ziggy resplendent as ever in his Liberty print costume.

Although beyond most of our budgets, Liberty is worth a visit just for its position as an historical and contemporary spectacle. It offers a calming break from the brash clamour of Oxford Street, and half an hour of laid back browsing. It also has a sumptuous tearoom.

This article is connected to Liberty & Co
Published Jul 2, 2012