Eleventy million years ago Natalie and I worked in fashion buying for a Lady who had once worked at Liberty.
She began every sentence with, ‘When I was at Liberty…’ and before we switched off and went to our happy places these stories would usually involve some archaic system of work using telegrams, typewriters, string and two cups.
The moral of the story was usually that we didn’t know the meaning of hard work what with our interweb, speller check and photocolourer, and it always resulted in us doing anything remotely techie for her and plying her with copious amounts of tea (milk, two sugars – as if I could forget) in an attempt to quiet her.
Anyways, what I’m getting at is that Liberty has in the past had a bit of a rep for being more old school than cool for some. Some of the things they have in store at the moment would make our old boss want to get out her Tippex and rid them off her computer screen in exchange for some velvet pashminas…
Liberty Loves Hello Kitty
It’s no secret that I have a slight Hello Kitty obsession. I truly believe the reason my bike has not been stolen is because it is covered in Hello Kitty stickers. And when asked who I would invite to my dream dinner party, there she is, showing off her bow to Isadora Duncan, Keith Haring, Banksy and Coco Channel.
Even though I’m pushing 30 and clever (I wear glasses sometimes) I just love how she is so hip-hop yet cutesy. You can’t imagine how excited I am about the Liberty Loves Hello Kitty collaboration. Mixing the iconic print styles of the traditional British store with the modern mass recognisable image of Hello Kitty the range includes stationary, makeup, toiletries as well as fabric available to purchase per metre. I’m warning you now, my house will soon be completely Hello Kitty themed.
Available 25th September, pre-order online
Liberty Nike A/W’11
We should take a moment to applaud the obvious new batch of fresh meat on the buying front at Liberty. In my opinion the new Liberty print Nike collection for autumn/winter massively out-trumps the previous season’s.
They’ve given Liberty prints a twist with designs by famous children’s illustrators – Brian Wildsmith who was a leading figure of 1960s ground breaking illustration and a former Slade School of Art Graduate; Lauren Child, the creator of Charlie and Lola; and David McKee who illustrated Mr Benn, King Rollo, Spot the Dog and my favorite Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.
Liberty Rocks art fabrics collection
The Liberty design team have worked with a few famous artists and musicians who have a passion for prints to produce a variety of eclectic designs for A/W’11.
Florence Welch hand picked a couple designs from the Liberty archive for reintroduction while Graham Coxon lent some of his own drawings to produce an amazing ’60s vibe repeat print called ‘A Boy Dreams’.
Other contributors include musicians Edwyn Collins, Emilia De Poret and artists Storm Thorgerson, John Squire and Mark Mawson.
Prices start at £19.95 per metre, more info here
Comments
Guyliner
Before they ‘moved everything round’, the formal menswear department in Liberty was one of my favourite places in London to escape the rain. I also like the fact that the staff are all ultra-fashionable but also terminally bored. It’s interesting to watch them teeter on the edge of suicide while they watch me unfurl all the carefully-placed ties so I can see the price tag (they’re always £69).
Natalie
Ha ha, I always say that I ‘love Liberty’, but now that I think about it, i have never actually bought anything from there, EVER. It’s almost like a Museum of Very Nice But Very Expensive and a Little Bit Pointless Stuff.