Liberty prints a tradition

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 10

Liberty prints a tradition

FASHION AND BEAUTY

by

Paula Ryan

Liberty Prints have become renowned throughout the world and they have an interesting history which dates as far back as 1860.

At this time young Mr Arthur Lasenby Liberty had a fascination for the art and silks of Japan. After a period working in an oriental warehouse in Regent Street, London, Arthur Liberty opened his own shop in 1875, specialising in the finest examples of Japanese wares. However, in the I.BBos he was disturbed by a great influx from Japan of machine-made fabrics with harsh colours. This led to his producing his own dyes on Eastern silks in England; their distinctive colour range led to the term “Liberty” colours as well as establishing the Liberty mark of soft, fine fabric.

The next step was the acquiring of a printworks at Merton Abbey to print his own designs. Among the designs produced at this time were the art ntfveau prints from the mid 1890 s. Some 70 years later these were revived. At the turn of the century Libertys was also famous for its furniture and silver and for women’s fashions; and the success of the company led to the building of the present Tudor building in 1924 which coincided with the complete reconstitution of Regent Street itself. Unfortunately Arthur Liberty himself did not see the new premises, having died in 1917, but the Tudor building remains a landmark for Londoners and tourists alike.

The period between the wars saw the continuance of specialised design and fabric production and the emergence of the floral prints identified with the Liberty image, especially the famous Tana lawn, which today is in greater demand than ever. After World War IT came the formation of Liberty of London Prints, which produces all printed ranges for dress and furnishing fabrics, and men’s and women’s scarves and ties. Sales extend all over the world to both manufacturers and retail shops. The other development has been the extensive modernisation of the print works at Merton Abbey. The old craft of handblock printing has been superseded by hand-screen printing, which in its turn is now reinforced by automatic screen printing.

New Zealand has both kinds of fabric available along with ready-made garments in these.