Artistic Dress at Liberty & Co

The Early Years

Anna Buruma

$72.95

Hardback

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English

Yale University Press
24 July 2025

History of Art & Design Styles; History of fashion

Exploring how the name of Liberty became synonymous with Aestheticism and the English Art Nouveau Movement, and its role in shaping contemporary late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Artistic Dress.

Liberty's dress department opened in 1884, headed by Edward William Godwin, an architect with a multi-faceted career and an important figure in the Aesthetic Movement. From the mid-nineteenth-century, women fought against restrictive clothing such as tight-laced corsets and heavy petticoats which were harmful to their health and chose instead to dress in looser fitting dresses, coloured with natural dyes and ornamented with embroidery and needlework. Liberty was at the forefront of Aestheticism with their recognisable soft drapeable silks, transparent textiles and fabrics imported from parts of Asia and the Middle East and their customers were an eclectic mix of women who wanted to dress artistically and stand out from the crowd. Liberty was the chosen resort of the artistic shopper.

With archival materials and previously unpublished pattern books, Anna Buruma navigates Liberty's role in artistic dress. Examining how their idiosyncratic fashions of Greek and Roman style evening dress and medieval tea gowns translated into late nineteenth and early twentieth century fashionable dress. Liberty sustained their popularity through good taste and willingness to expand into new markets. From their flourishing commitment to Aestheticism to becoming a trail-blazer for the Art Nouveau movement which would emerge from it, Artistic Dress at Liberty & Co: The Early Years is the go-to source for the early history of Liberty's dress department.

By: Anna Buruma
Imprint: Yale University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 270mm, Width: 216mm,
ISBN: 9780300274301
ISBN 10: 0300274300
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 24 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Anna Buruma trained as a theatre designer and had a successful career as a costume designer in television and film before completing an MA, specializing in the History of Dress, at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Buruma managed and catalogued the textile archive at Liberty from 1996 to 2022. From 2005 she has also been a part-time museum curator at Central Saint Martins.

Reviews for Artistic Dress at Liberty & Co: The Early Years

“Illustrated with beautiful photographs of outfits from the archive, as well as illustrations, sketches and adverts from the time, it’s sure to appeal to anyone who loves fashion and its history.”—Dominique Corlett, Homes & Antiques “Stunningly illustrated. . . provides insight into the company’s practices and how it contributed to disseminating Art & Crafts, Aesthetic, and Art Nouveau styles to artistically inclined clients all over European and American cities.”— Keren Ben-Horin, Selvedge