FuturLiberty

A unique exploration of the close relationship between art and , explored through the historic and contemporary fabric s of Liberty, where avant-garde art has influenced the colourful, geometric collections for more than half a century. Liberty is renowned internationally for its fabrics, especially its floral patterns, but it also has a long history of developing bold, geometric s. Many of these have been inspired by early 20th-century avant-garde art, notably by the Italian Futurists – by artists such as Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni – and their English contemporaries the Vorticists, including Christopher Nevinson and Edward Wadsworth. In anticipation of Liberty’s 150th anniversary, esteemed couturier and interior er Federico Forquet has curated a striking new range of fabrics – the FuturLiberty Collection – that carries Liberty’s creative heritage into our own age. The Futurist and Vorticist art that lies behind the new s is explored by specialists Ester Coen and Richard Cork, while archivist Anna Buruma examines Liberty’s rich history of avant-garde s. By illuminating the process by which the FuturLiberty Collection came into being, this highly visual study also reveals how art can inform , making it contemporary, relevant and engaging.