A series of collaborations with big-name labels and designers helped draw in younger shoppers and revived Liberty's "cool" image that had been lost during the Eighties and Nineties. The company's world-famous prints, a huge hit in Japan, were last year given a modern twist by Turner prize-winning artist Grayson Perry.
Fashion insiders hope today's purchase by private-equity firm BlueGem Capital, set up by former Merrill Lynch bankers, will not put pressure on Liberty to move away from offering quirky products that have proved so successful in favour of a more mainstream approach.
Until today Liberty was majority-owned by MWB Holdings, the hotel group that owns the Malmaison chain.
Evening Standard
