Liberty London gets its own documentary

Iconic London department store Liberty will be the focus of an upcoming documentary this autumn, which will reveal what the store does behind the scenes. The three-part TV documentary, set to air on Channel 4, will focus on Liberty’s managing

director Ed Burstell and head of marketing and communications Kate Brindley, following them as they attend fashion weeks around the world, as well as the department store’s buying teams in the run up to the store’s busiest time of the year, the Christmas season.

The series, which has the working title ‘Making Liberty’ was inspired by the BBC’s ‘Inside Claridge’s’ documentary, which went behind-the-scenes at the Internationally recognised Mayfair hotel.

It is hoped that the documentary will not only increase footfall in the store and generate more online sales, but also breakdown some of the misconceptions of the iconic department store.

“TV has a real mass outreach with it being as strong regionally as it is in cities like London, so great for us,” Brindley told WWD. “I really hope that ‘Making Liberty’ will bring a new customer to Liberty and show people that perhaps haven’t visited the store in a while that we aren’t just seeping in our heritage, or resting on our [floral-printed] laurels, or just ‘expensive.’ We are a brand that thrives on innovation and we have something for everyone.”

Department store Liberty to star in Channel 4 documentary

Burstell added: “There’s a real focus on the business of fashion, they will be filming us at all the fashion weeks, seeing the strategy and the buying meetings; it will be a balance of that and the people that go into it.

“We’ve been so lucky that the business has done so well over the past four years but the truth is that sometimes there are frustrating days — and they caught one [on camera] already. There was some bad news about deliveries and, well, let’s just say I had to do my breathing exercises.”

This isn’t the first time that the luxury department store has been featured on a TV show; in 2011 the retailer took part in the BBC’s ‘The Next Big Thing’ series, which documented the stores talent-searching open calls for British designers. In addition, Burstell has also been an expert on ‘The Apprentice’.

No confirmed air date has been announced, just that it will screen in the UK this autumn on Channel 4, with hopes that it will be then distributed internationally.

Images: Ed Burstell and Liberty London