Liberty is relaunching its fabrics department, one of its oldest categories, as the centre of its retail strategy. The designer department store has seen customers returning to sewing, dressmaking, and making things for themselves.
Expansion of the Fabrics Department
The new department, which opened on July 20, has increased by 140 per cent from 1,927 sq ft to 4,630 sq ft, bringing more than 2,500 fabrics together with private consultation areas, new collections, artist installations, and plans for workshops.
According to Liberty’s managing director of retail Lydia King, the decision to invest was not only about giving the department more space but also responding to customers who were already trying to tell the retailer that they wanted more.
“First, it was consumer demand,” King says. “The sales were amazing that we actually couldn’t fit the amount of customers in there.”
The old department could accommodate only three cutting tables, limiting the number of customers the team could serve while also restricting the range of fabrics that could be displayed.
Now, the department has room for more than 20 new collections each year, alongside Liberty’s established archive of prints and fabrics.
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Customers’ response to the expanded department has been immediate. On the first day the new space opened, Liberty recorded its best day of trading for the fabrics department, exceeding its target by 35 per cent, according to King.
The expansion comes against a stronger financial backdrop for the retailer, with revenue rising to £129m from £124m, while profit before tax increased to £7.7m from £2.6m.
Liberty has had a rich history of driving fabric printing innovation, ever since it began printing its own designs over a century ago.
Today, the luxury retailer’s fabrics department is rooted in a supply chain that stretches from its in-house design team to its Liberty Printing Mill, located in Olonia, near Lake Como in Italy.
The new space is designed around customer behaviour, with private consultation suites for projects ranging from dressmaking to interiors and bespoke commissions.
Liberty is also planning workshops from the autumn, following feedback from its customer community.
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“Other department stores moved away from haberdasheries,” she says. “It’s usually stuck in a corner or forgotten. Actually, for us, we want a better experience.”
That means the physical space has to do more than sell fabric. Liberty wants it to become a destination built around expertise, creativity, and discovery.
As the company looks to the future, it’s clear that the fabrics department will play a key role in Liberty’s next chapter.
King points to a shift away from the beige, minimalist aesthetic associated with quiet luxury towards more colour and pattern.
She sees the same change in fashion and interiors, with customers becoming more willing to experiment. For Liberty, that plays directly into the strengths of its fabrics business.
This approach is already visible elsewhere in the store, where Liberty uses pop-ups, events, and exclusive launches to give customers reasons to visit.
