Dress

Liberty & Co.

1900–1905 · silk · Costume Institute

Liberty & Co., founded in London in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) as a retailer specializing in goods from the Orient and Far East, became strongly influenced by the Aesthetic Movement, and later, was associated with the Art Nouveau style. The retailer, an advocate of affordable and distinctive design, not only imported items, but also tapped English designers of the day to produce furniture, household goods, and fine textiles. In 1884, Liberty opened a costume department headed by Edward William Godwin (1833-86), an architect and proponent of the Liberty philosophy. The Liberty workrooms created garments that defied Paris fashion, inspired instead by artistic movements, dress reform, and non-Western costume. This beautifully made child's garment has the aesthetic of Liberty & Co. garments from this period. While there is no clear documentation that this is so, it bears all of the Liberty hallmarks: the supple satin, smocking, stylish shape of the collar and self-colored embroidery.

Artist

Liberty & Co.

Date

1900–1905

Medium

silk

Culture

British

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III, 1961