The New Wallpaper Collection From Liberty (The First in 10 Years!)

This week, I ventured into London to visit the Liberty London showcase of their new wallpaper and fabric collection The Modern Collector. While this collection was made available to purchase a couple of months ago, it is only now that Liberty are really promoting it (as lockdown lifts and you are able to visit their London store and browse through the large sample books of multiple patterns and colourways). What I didn’t know before attending the event was that this was Liberty’s first new wallpaper launch in ten years (while new fabric collections had continued, wallpaper had taken a back seat for a while). The showcase took place at The House of St Barnabas, a Grade I Listed Georgian building in Soho Square that runs jointly as a private members club and a charity to help those who have experienced homelessness. Liberty London both helps support and fund the charity, as well as supplying wallpaper and fabrics to decorate the House.

The Modern Collector contains 12 different wallpaper patterns, with each pattern being available in four to five colour stories. The same pattern in a light, neutral shade can look vastly different from the same pattern in deep jewel colours, so the collection feels vast. Designed in a studio behind the iconic London store, The Modern Collector consists of new artworks and a selection of archival Liberty prints which have been reinterpreted, reworked, and rescaled for large wallpaper repeat patterns.

The wallpapers are all manufactured in the UK in a factory in Loughborough to the highest quality. What struck me when handling the papers was not just the eye-catching designs, but also the texture and effects they had. Printed on premium non-woven substrates, the papers have slightly raised textures and many have delicate metal shimmers, which you can really see on the patterns of Botanical Stripe and Regency Tulip.

Each of the 12 wallpaper designs are categorised within three central stories from the archive which inspired The Modern Collector: Floribunda, Art Nouveau, and The Tree Of Life. Floribunda is a celebration of English flowers and gardens, so it includes the all over-prints of Poppy Meadow and Wiltshire Blossom. Art-Nouveau embraces the glamourous nature of peacock feathers (Hera Plume), tulips (Regency Tulip), and scallop shapes (Deco Scallop). The Tree Of Life focuses on the life cycle of nature and is inspired by the hand-painted Indian Palampore textiles of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, thus encompassing large motifs.

Clockwise from top left: Regency Tulip Wallpaper in Lacquer; Deco Scallop Wallpaper in Lapis; Poppy Meadowfield Wallpaper in Lichen; Wiltshire Blossom Wallpaper in Fennel.

While I wanted to focus on the wallpaper collection as I was so surprised that there had not been one in recent years, it was interesting to see some of the fabrics within The Modern Collector included completely plain linens and velvets in the most perfect tones of pink and green. I think Liberty prints are often so associated with spirited patterns and maximalist tastes, yet, with The Modern Collector, those who prefer softer and more muted interiors have also been carefully considered (it turns out that distinctive Liberty designs still look as beautiful in pewter whites as they do in jade tones!)

Clockwise from top left: Quill Wallpaper in Lapis; Patricia Wallpaper in Jade; Paisley Fern Wallpaper in Pewter White; Hera Plume Wallpaper in Lichen.

For more information on The Modern Collector click here. You can shop the new range of wallpaper online here. The beautiful and historic central London store is now open and is currently celebrating The Modern Collector on the 4th floor, where look-books of both the wallpaper and the fabrics are available to browse.