A unique exploration of the close relationship between art and design, explored through the historic and contemporary fabric designs of Liberty, where avant-garde art has influenced the colourful, geometric collections for more than half a century.
Liberty is one of the best-known luxury retailers in London, and is renowned internationally for its fabrics. Alongside its floral patterns, Liberty has also had a long history of developing bold, geometric designs inspired by early 20th-century avant-garde art, notably by the Italian Futurists - by artists such as Giacomo Balla, Gino Severini and Umberto Boccioni - and their English contemporaries the Vorticists, including Percy Wyndham Lewis, Christopher Nevinson and Edward Wadsworth.
As Liberty approaches its 150th anniversary, renowned couturier and interior designer Federico Forquet has curated a brand new range of fabrics that carry the Liberty heritage of avant-garde-inspired designs into our own age. The new range, called FuturLiberty, is being launched in Milan in the spring of 2023, alongside a major exhibition of the very Futurist and Vorticist artworks that have been Liberty's inspiration for more than half a century.
With texts by Futurism expert Ester Coen, Vorticism expert Richard Cork and former Liberty archivist Anna Buruma, the FuturLiberty range of designs is brought to life in this beautifully produced study that will appeal not only to the many thousands who associate Liberty with the very pinnacle of fabric design and production, but also to designers everywhere who are keen to explore how art can be the inspiration for their own work.