Six interesting facts about Liberty London fabric

Liberty of London is steeped in so much heritage, we thought we'd delve into the history books and pick out our favourite fabric facts!

Did you know?

1. Liberty has been selling fabrics since 1875

   - that's over 140 years! In 1875 Arthur Lasenby Liberty borrowed £2,000 (which is over £200,000 in today's money!) to buy the Liberty of London store on Regent Street.
   
   

2. Liberty first became known for their oriental fabrics

   From 1875 Liberty made their reputation by importing the finest of oriental fabrics from the far east. As demand grew for beautiful and luxurious fabrics Liberty decided to import undyed fabrics and hand print them in England.
   
   

3. In the 1920's 'Liberty Prints' were born

   'Liberty prints' are the patterns we are familiar with today, the small floral, paisley and abstract prints.
   
   

4. In the 1920's Liberty decided to make their own fabric

   Tana Lawn Cotton is a Liberty best seller and is now regarded globally as the finest cotton in the world. Read more about Tana Lawn Cotton fabric here.
   
   

5. The Liberty Archive now holds over 43,000 Liberty prints

   In a warehouse in Hayford lies an incredible treasure trove of archived Liberty prints. Each design is kept in as many forms as possible from the original artwork, colourways and swatch books to the screen separations in digital form.
   
   

6. 120 new designs are released each year

   Liberty have a team of six designers that collaborate with all sorts of people from writers and craftsman to illustrators, famous chefs and even tattoo artists to create the iconic seasonal prints.