Hypernova 150: The Icons | Episode 3: The Heron Print
Uncover the story behind this hand-dyed design, reworked by Frida Giannini from an archival discovery.
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Hypernova 150: The Icons | Episode 3: The Heron Print
Uncover the story behind this hand-dyed design, reworked by Frida Giannini from an archival discovery.
Liberty Hypernova 150 is a celebration of heritage meeting modernity, fusing Liberty’s print traditions and the timeless mastery of makers with creative director Frida Giannini’s contemporary, future looking eye.
Within the collection’s tapestry of references, from rebellious punks to naval attire, nods to Liberty’s archival heritage and traditions are a powerful thread, with nods to our rich history of print innovation peppered across each creation.
No piece exemplifies this more than the Heron Velvet Cape. Crafted in Italy from ultra-soft velvet, with hand-finished detailing and a distinctive, luxurious allure: it features a re-working of one of Liberty’s archival prints, reimagined for our 150th year by Frida herself.
Archive Revival
During the development of the Liberty Hypernova 150 collection, Frida worked closely with Liberty’s in-house teams and archivists, to uncover the themes, prints and references that coalesce in each product.
Originally entitled ‘Dutch Stork’, the Heron print as it appears in the collection is a reworking of a 1920s scarf fragment from the Liberty archive – modernised through recolouring and resizing the print to create something that is simultaneously distinctly Liberty, and distinctly new.
“Liberty is full of flowers, and I wanted to do something different,” says Frida. “We created the Heron print with the Liberty design team, reworking it so it is still in the floral family, but has a different vibe.”
In addition to meticulous restorations, the use of a plush velvet – in burgundy and blue – adds a sense of vibrancy to the print. “It has a beautiful shift in colour,” explains Frida. “In the light it really changes, and that’s something I loved because it brings a different energy to the collection.”
The Craft of the Cape
The finest of print designs requires the utmost artistry in its transformation to garment. For the creation of the cape, Liberty partnered with Archille Pinto, based in Como, Italy, to ensure a masterful, precisely perfected finish.
The cape is crafted using silk-viscose velvet, a fabrication noted for its fluidity, depth of colour and sheen. Threads of silk woven through the print gives a sense of luminosity – catching the light with even the most subtle movement – while the addition of viscose provides and unmatched drape and softness. This combination ensures the cape is both structural and soft, falling naturally around the shoulders for an effortless, elegant silhouette.
Archille Pinto’s expert artisans print each cape using a double-sided printing technique – a method which enriches the depth and tonal variation across the garment, to enhance the lustre and tonal complexity of Frida’s carefully crafted design.
The final addition, the hand-dyed ombre threads, are crafted using a precisely controlled process that uses the artisan’s eye to ensure a balanced, bespoke tonal shift. The resulting fringe is entirely unique, with a gentle sense of colour variation that imbues the cape with a subtle sense of motion.
Heron Takes Flight
Alongside the Heron Cape, the Heron print features on the Long Velvet Wrap Dress, Midi Velvet Wrap Dress and Heron Velvet Trousers, in both blue and burgundy. These garments capture the print’s inherent sense of movement and opulence – with the velvet capturing and reflecting the light, bringing a new attention to the print within.
When paired with the cape, each piece encapsulates the print storytelling and forward-looking attitude that characterises Frida Giannini’s Hypernova 150 collection.
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