Top, caftan

Printed cotton caftan, 2004. Prints designed by Liberty. Retailed by Liberty.

Arthur Lasenby Liberty opened Liberty's in Regent Street in 1875. Drawing on his experience as a shop assistant at Farmer and Rogers India Shawl Warehouse and his interest in Asian and Near and Far Eastern cultures, he sold a range of artefacts, curios, textiles and accessories from India, China and Japan, North Africa and the Middle East. Liberty's also produced their own textiles, importing woven fabric and commissioning British firms to print and dye it. The patterns were taken from traditional Indian designs. Liberty worked with Thomas Wardle of Leek in Staffordshire and Edmund Littler of Merton Abbey in Surrey, whose printworks they purchased in 1904.

From the late 1880s Liberty began to commission patterns from leading contemporary designers including the architect Charles Voysey, Lindsay P. Butterfield, Sidney Mawson and Arthur Silver, the founder of the Silver Studio. Most of the designs of the late 19th century were in the Art Nouveau style. This caftan is made from two prints, a simple repeating pattern of flower heads and a contrasting but toning Art Nouveau inspired print. The garment was purchased from Liberty's lingerie department.