The Spring Summer 2012 Liberty Art Fabrics collection was inspired by archives, antiques and costume. Colour palettes were based around mood boards created by eminent contributors to fashion, art and antiques, with prints giving a nod to the beautiful Glencott House in Somerset as well as Olympic motifs. The collection is divided into 5 colour stories and 5 design stories.

COLOUR

Palettes have been inspired by mood boards created by eminent contributors to the fashion, Art and Antique worlds:

Zandra Rhodes
Fashion and Textile designer, awarded a CBE in 1997 for her contribution to the British Fashion and Textile Industry.

Zandra's palette is a hot colour vision reminiscent of Zandra’s signature hues, muted and influenced by past Liberty palettes to produce perfect shades for the season: hot tropical pinks and purples, sunshine golden yellows and azure blues.

Isabel Saiz
Business Development Manager working with The National Gallery, London and selected artists and designers. Formerly worked with The National Trust and Farrow and Ball.

Saiz inspired a soft, clean palette that plays with moods and textures. Contrasting shades of primary colours are set against a backdrop of natural tones of stone and sand, with yellows reflecting a positive and optimistic mood.

Martin Miller
Antiques guru and Boutique hotel entrepreneur.

Miller's is a whimsical, utilitarian and very wearable palette mixing antiquity with modernity; a multi-coloured spectrum of blues, greens, pinks, yellows, browns and greys.

Frances Pritchard
Textile Curator and Archivist at The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester and author specialising in Medieval textiles.

Pritchard chose monotone hand block printed textiles mainly designed by Baron and Larcher (1913 – 1930s from The Whitworth Art Gallery archive because of their masterly combination of cloth, colour and pattern. These inspired rich, simple block print colours with intense primary saturated hues: earthy pigment reds, indigo blues, Indian yellows and deep inky blacks. Studio Blue
For the final colour story the design team were inspired by antique blue and white ceramics from the V&A and British Museums, dating back as early as 1351. Fresh porcelain blues dominate with highlights of ginger jars and Ming greens.

DESIGN

VISUALISER

Since 2007 the Liberty Design Studio have been involved in a partnership with Dundee University, the Victoria and Albert Museum and System Simulation on a research project to develop software providing a visual browsing experience.

The ‘Visualiser’ allows designers to browse 15,000 items from pattern books, artwork, fabric lengths and impressions from the Liberty Archive on a database – visually rather than by using text.

The following florals were all inspired by this experience:

August Rose: A low colour detailed printed watercolour damask with striped highlights inspired by a 20th Century high colour archival document.

Ellie Ruth: A smart retro floral with toothpaste stripes created from an all over floral of ‘Bizzy Lizzies’ dating from 1961.

Glaister: Originally a traditional trailing rose based on an archival document from the 19th Century. The design has been reworked to become a modern pen and ink detailed floral with a background created from a watercolour painting of collaged string.

Amy Hurrell: A geometric, vintage stylised loose floral created from a piece of undated artwork from the Liberty archive.

Fitzgerald: Inspired by a typical Liberty print design from the 1930s. The design has been re-drawn to recreate the essence of a meadow in spring.

Clarricoates: Loosely inspired by an archival print from 1965; a modern polka dot hatched floral with linear lines and geometric structure.

Mistral: An archival graphic watercolour taken from a document dating back to 1949.

ARCHIVE

For the first time ever The Liberty Design studio worked in collaboration with a very high profile selection of designers working in the fields of Textiles, Costume Design and Set Design. Designs were selected from the famous Liberty Archive or inspired by antiques.

Sarah Rachel: Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Oscar nominated costume designer of such films as ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and the more recent ‘Burke and Hare’ and founding member of the David C.Copley Centre for Costume Design at UCLA worked very closely with the design studio on the creation of this design.

Inspiration stemmed from a visit to The Liberty Archive and Deborah’s love of an antique set of beautiful porcelain.

This design of romantic roses was created in a style befitting a Hollywood film set and has the added attraction of a border with metallic pigment for creating co-ordinating collars, buttons and cuffs; highly sought after in costume design.

Dragonista: An archival design chosen by the antiques guru Martin Miller; the name behind the famous ‘Miller’s Antiques Price Guides’, and creator of the fabulous ‘Miller’s Residence’, ‘Glencot House’ and ‘Martin Miller’s Gin!’.He is also a poet, writer and artist with an infectious love of antiques.

Martin added a Miller twist to the design ‘Dragonista’, incorporating antiques of his own into the Liberty design, which was originally a ‘Chinoiserie’ style design for a Liberty scarf dating back to the early 1990s.

“In effect, it’s like taking a static work of art into a form that gives it movement and vitality. The iconic brand of Liberty is renowned for blending the classic with the modern which both complements and appeals to my style, and I am excited to be part of this wearable, living collection.” Martin Miller.

Meandering Chrysanthemums: Zandra Rhodes, textile print icon, joined forces with Liberty and created an iconic fabric.

Zandra added her signature squiggle to the blotch of this archival design from 1966, which was inspired by florals from the 1920s with vibrantly coloured oriental style flowers on dark grounds.

Sandalwood: Anthony Powell, a three time Oscar winner for costume design, has worked on well known films such as ‘Death on the Nile’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’. In 2000 he won a lifetime achievement award from the Costume Designer’s Guild of Hollywood.

Anthony chose the design ‘Sandalwood’ as he has always loved paisley patterns for their incredible inventiveness and energy and the exquisite quality of their detail. The eye can explore them endlessly. Anthony thinks our clever adaptation from artwork to final design is like “Jazz”.

Sandalwood is loosley based on a 19th century archival paisley.

Emily Bowyer: Chosen by Anna Buruma, in-house Archivist for Liberty Art Fabrics and curator at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Anna has worked as the Archivist at Liberty since 1999, has a background in Costume Design and she has worked on films such as ‘The Hour of the Pig’ and ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’.

Emily Bowyer is a monotone floral based on a 1950s print impression from Liberty’s Merton Abbey Printworks.

TV Ted: Chosen by Meera Sleight, a London born designer who discovered a love of fabric and texture growing up in India and Japan. Meera works alongside the Liberty Art Fabrics Design Studio on special projects. Meera has also worked with Lanvin, Chloe and Aquascutum to name a few as a print designer and fashion researcher.

This design was based on an un-dated abstract check found on a small loose textile sample in The Liberty Archive and was formerly in the collection in a larger scale on cotton jersey and called Ted.

Howells Ladders: A conversational design of ladders based on a print impression from Liberty’s Merton Abbey Printworks.

Michael Howells chose this print because it was designed in the 1950s and was very conscious that colouration should also reflect the period when the design was created.

Michael Howells is a production designer and art director working both in film and fashion. Michael is closely aligned with some of the highest profile practitioners in fashion and has designed numerous sets for John Galliano’s Christian Dior shoes and own name catwalk shows among others. Michael is equally acclaimed for his work in the performing arts and his career in film boasts production design for titles including ‘Emma’, ’An ideal Husband’ and ‘Nanny McPhee’. In 2007 Howells won the Prix d’Excellence de la Mode in Paris and the first Isabella Blow award for Fashion Creator of the year from the British Fashion Council.

GLENCOT HOUSE

A series of designs inspired by a studio first: a three day drawing excursion to Glencot House, set in beautiful grounds and nestling in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

This Victorian Mansion, built in grand Jacobean style, boasts the most elegantly theatrical interior of any country house hotel. Filled with exotic antiques and ancient curiosities, it is owned and personally styled by Martin Miller.

Elevenses: Inspired by crockery, framed pictures of ceramics and drinking afternoon tea whilst drawing. Loosely based on Dancing Ladies from AW11 and with florals referencing both Liberty archive prints and patterns on china at Glencot House.

My Little Posy: An antique posy created from framed documents, bedroom key tassels, chandeliers, ceramics, Glencot flora and old type writer keys. Painted in the style of old wood blocks where the darkest colour is most prominent with an almost batik formation of colour as surrounding outline work.

Glencot House: Drawn and painted in an adjoining field on a beautiful spring day at Glencot. A modern take on the more traditional toile de jouy: Glencot in all its glory, surrounded by its sumptuous landscaped grounds.

Harkess–McNair: Taken from a watercolour painting of a view of the Somerset hills from Glencot House. The design becomes a blanket of texture with blossoming apple trees, hillside shrubbery and evergreens against a blue spring sky.

Becci: Inspiration came whilst reclining on an old patterned chair in the drawing room at Glencot House. A layered design of leaves and flowers creating three dimensions drawn from the gardens at Glencot.

Keighley: Inspired by embroideries at Glencot House, the design was created using mixed media. The final effect is that of a vintage early 1800s style floral.

WHITWORTH

Designs in this group were inspired by a visit to the beautiful textile collection at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester under the guidance of Frances Pritchard, curator of textiles.

Inspiration was drawn from early 17th Century Italian cisele velvet as well as lino blocks from the mid 20th Century and our own Liberty Art Fabric designs from the 1890s to 1900

Each design features a subtle Olympic element to commemorate the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Whitworth was founded in 1889 during the heroic period of Victorian Philanthropy. The museum’s founders drew inspiration from contemporary museums and galleries in Continental Europe for their conception of what an art gallery should be. By 1908, with a strong influence from the Arts and Crafts movement, The Whitworth had become an important forum for the arts, humanities and technology and houses one of the world’s greatest collections of textiles.

Boadicea: A hand drawn toile de jouy based on British statues around London and inspired by textiles at the Whitworth.This patriotic and symbolic print features references to the 2012 Olympic games.

Eternal Flame: Inspired by bold stylised shapes and zig zags on wood and lino block prints by Baron and Larcher seen at The Whitworth Art Gallery. The addition of an Olympic flame celebrates the 2012 games and gives the design its name.

Lagos Laurel: A 20th Century take on the traditional paisley, this design was first in the collection in the 1940s, revived in the ‘90s and has now been revised with added Olympic laurel for the SS12 collection. The print was chosen for the block printed style reminiscent of many of the textiles in the Whitworth archive.

Boxford: A design inspired by an early 1900s Liberty Art Nouveau textile at the Whitworth Gallery, with stylised roses representing the English Rose.

Meg’s Garden: A design inspired by an early 1900s Liberty Art Nouveau textile at the Whitworth Gallery. The design has been re-drawn with the addition of bay leaves, the Olympian laurel and five rings to represent the Olympics.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY
A collection of designs inspired by paintings at the National Gallery, chosen by Isabel Saiz. Pictures were selected for their bold, striking textiles, elegant and romantic blooms, abstract timeless florals and wild impressionist painting.

Melanie Atai: Created with gouache, textured paper and masking fluid to create the beautiful simplicity of the woman’s dress in the early renaissance picture ‘Portrait of a Lady’ (1465) by Alesso Baldovinetti.

Sophie Alice Hand painted in the successful style of Viviana from SS11 to represent the abundance of tulips in Dutch Flower paintings. Inspired in particular by ‘Flowers in a Glass Vase’ (1670) by Jacob van Walscapelle.

Glyn Ann: Taken from Monet’s ‘Irises’ (1914-17), depicting the irises which grew near his garden at Giverny. A watercolour design with an all over textural effect of looping irises.

Langley: A sumptuous hand drawn display of summer blooms, inspired by the painting ‘Ophelia among the Flowers’ (1905/8) by Odilon Redon. The flowers are of no identifiable species, probably inspired by Wascapelle’s ‘Flowers in a Vase’ and depicting the garlanded head of ‘Ophelia’.

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS
Five designs selected from an annual collaboration with the BA Fashion Textiles course at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

The brief centred on film and particular directors were selected for the costume design and artistic references within their films.

The chosen designs were inspired by the following films:

‘La Dolce Vita’, directed by Frederico Fellini - 1960 ‘Shanghai Express’, directed by Joseph Von Sternberg – 1932 ‘Breathless’, directed by Jean Luc Godard – 1960 ‘Metropolis’, directed by Fritz Lang – 1927 ‘A Clockwork Orange’, directed by Stanley Kubrick – 1971

Six distinguished judges selected the winning designs:
Anthony Powell, three time Oscar winner for costume design.
Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Oscar nominated costume designer.
John Landis, legendary film director.
Terry Gilliam, legendary film director.
Kerry Taylor, successful vintage textile auction house owner.
Justine Picardie, fashion journalist and novelist.

DESIGNS

Kerry’s Flock: Designed by Shermeen Tabit and inspired by the film, ‘Shanghai Express’ and the feather hats and costumes worn by Marlene Dietrich.

Landis Designed by Nayuko Yamamoto and inspired by the sophisticated Art Deco architecture in the film ‘Metropolis’.

Picardie: Designed by Phil Kim and inspired by the film ,‘A Clockwork Orange’ – Kim describes the design as an ‘hallucination of unexpected combinations’.

Gilliam: Designed by Kokoro Nakane, the print depicts a textile maze -inspired by the film ‘Breathless’ and the constant mind changing of the films characters and their shunning of any confinement.

Powell Designed by Timi Hayek and inspired by Sylvia in ‘La Dolce Vita’ who wore a lacy provocative top and behaved in a feline manner.

DIGITAL

A second seasonal collection of sumptuous artworks on fabric created with digital printing. All designs were again inspired by Glencot House, its wonderful antiques and glorious gardens.

Pamela Judith: Hand drawn and photographed flowers merged to create an ethereal, almost oriental mystical forest.

Umbria: Photographed roses blurred with classic Liberty florals to create an ikat inspired by wonderful textiles at Glencot House.

Widdas Waltz: Drawn from a Victorian Garland of pressed flowers captured in a frame. The flowers tumble across the fabric cascading with the marble swirls as if in an old fashioned dance.

Tiers of Light: This design uses manipulated photographs taken of beautiful old rusting chandeliers intertwined with leaves and foliage adorning trees that surround Glencot House.

Wookey Hole: Cave drawings and photography merged together from a trip to Wookey Hole. Epic in scale and detail with gem stone colouration creating a weird and magical collaboration.

Dr Tulloch: Taken from a watercolour painting of a chaotic bookcase in the writing room tucked away in the gardens of Glencot House. The books were thrown together as if in a textured pile creating an abstract pattern.

Fabrics Available

Ganton Cotton Jersey

10 quirky designs: florals, conversationals and paisleys for a sporty 100% cotton jersey:
Ellie Ruth, Amy Hurrell, Fitzgerald, Clarricoates, Meandering Chrysanthemums, Elevenses, Lagos Laurel, Boxford, Langley, Powell.

Dufour Viscose Jersey

A fusion of florals, paisley and landscape chosen for their fluidity and coverage:
August Rose, Ellie Ruth, Amy Hurrell, Clarricoates, Meandering Chrysanthemums, Sandalwood, Emily Bowyer, Harkess-McNair, Becci, Langley.

Taormina Voile

A floral extravaganza, perfect for sheer summer voile:
August Rose, Ellie Ruth, Amy Hurrell, Clarricoates, Mistral, Keighley, Meandering Chrysanthemums, Glyn Ann, Langley, Emily Bowyer.

Sandwash Park Lane Crepe de Chine, Sandwash Grosvenor Square Silk Satin, Mayfair Chiffon

Florals, paisley, geometrics and conversationals selected from the main collection for their creativity, diversity and style:
Amy Hurrell, Mistral, Meandering Chrysanthemums, Kirstie’s Paisley, Tv Ted, Meg’s Garden, Melanie Atai, Glyn Ann, Kerry’s Flock, Pamela Judith, Tiers of Light, Doctor Tulloch.

CLASSICS

A revised classic collection featuring 40 designs including 3 new seasonal designs and 2 revived heritage prints.

New seasonal bestseller classics:
Eliza’s, Emilia’s Flowers, Melly

Heritage Print classics:
Ianthe, Hera

With new colours added to designs:
Glenjade, Phoebe, Lord Paisley, Mauverina, Bourton

Shop the collection

Watch our behind the scenes video on Liberty TV