In defense of haberdashery departments: Fabric is more relevant than ever
As someone who loves to make and sew things, I’m definitely biased in being drawn to stores with extensive haberdashery and fabric departments. For me part of the joy of it is that the whole space is filled with potential. You get to pick up, feel, and admire patterns, textures, weights, materials and imagine what they could turn into in an endless reel inside your own head. If I’m any example, 99% of those ideas will never really become anything, but it’s a shopping experience that is much more gratifying than just picking up an item of clothing off the rack and trying it on. Beyond that, though, I have come to realize that these haberdashery departments and stores (of which there are not enough left, in my opinion, particularly in city centers), have an increasingly interesting role and can bring a range of benefits to brands willing to put in the effort to source and stock sewing, knitting, and other textile & fashion materials in a dedicated space.
Uniquely branded materials
Liberty is a classic (and favorite) example of a department store that has maintained its fabric and haberdashery offering over the years. This is of course partly due to the fact that Liberty fabrics, and their print designs, are an iconic part of the brand identity. Having the materials available to purchase aligns with Liberty’s heritage as a home of the Arts & Crafts movement, carrying that on into the present day by supporting customer’s own creativity and markership.
Liberty’s famous prints
Beyond that, however, a unique fabric selection the opportunity for a fashion retailer to create a unique perspective on new styles and designs, extending beyond the role of curator to a tastemaker from the ground-up. For Liberty having this connection to materials means the brand has endless opportunities for applications of their unique patterns. As is easily seen with Liberty, this means seemingly boundless potential for brand collaborations across a range of styles and categories (for example with J. Crew, Vans shoes, Faber & Faber publishers) that allows Liberty to continually re-position its classic prints and align them with new lifestyles and consumers.
Bring back DIY designer outfits
Accessible couture
Of course not all stores will have their own fabric designers or produce their own materials, but there are other reasons that the fabric department can be important and valuable to a retailer. As with Liberty’s fabrics and pattern-production for home sewing, department stores offering a wide selection of materials to choose from offer customers the potential for a more accessible version of ‘couture’ - in fact in a way that goes back to the origins of the department store and their relationshops with fashion houses. Even if we may not be able to visit a department store and find the same materials and exat patterns shown on a Fashion Week runway, there is still much to be said for providing resources for self-expression and individual style that can’t be found in the usual fast fashion offerings.
This is important not just for those seeking a sense of exclusivity, but also for younger consumers who may be less interested in overtly replicating trends season after season. Trends seem unlikely to leave us any time soon, but coexisting with seasonal styles is an interest in personalization and individuality expressed through fashion. In terms of personalization and customization, depop has been a key recent example of how Gen-Z are willing to take things apart and put their own spin on them - altering and combining vintage and secondhand pieces to show off a point of view or personal brand. Both personalization and not being tied to specific categories or labels are perhaps best catered to by offering the materials to create ones own style from scratch, or customize it as desired (dresses with pockets - IYKYK).
Rise of mending & upcycling as ‘cool’
Speaking of platforms like depop, the question of sustainability is another reason why haberdashery feels newly relevant and important. Whilst sustainability and consuming less new clothes may seem like a threat to traditional retailers, I think it can actually be an opportunity to pivot back to these older, seemingly outdated departments. As mentioned the rise of apps for re-selling and upcycling clothing amongst Gen-Z has been well documented, which has led not only to a trend in personalizingclothing but also in upcycling outdated styles and re-using materials in creative ways. This trend is, in my mind, an opportunity for high street department stores to position themselves as relevant to a younger generation comfortable with experimentation and the entrepreneurship that emerges out of it on platforms such as depop. Not simply some shelves catering to casual hobbyists, haberdashery departments can become a brand’s way to support creative sustainability, working towards solving some of the clear environmental issues posed by the fashion industry which currently dominates many retailers shop floors. And beyond that, it’s a chance for a store to become a thought leader and educator, empowering customers with information and skills, pushing their offering beyond just the physical materials and into the experience economy.
#visiblemending on Instagram - upcycling and repair as a desirable aesthetic
Traceable materials
Another benefit, in terms of strengthening brand trust, is for a retailer to be able to show - quite literally, on the shelf - at least one further link back in the supply chain. Selling and displaying materials and sharing details about them provides an opportunity to be a leader in more transparent and sustainable supply chains, which is increasingly in demand from consumers (and something popular newcomer brands, such as Pangaia and Girlfriend Collective do well). Research in the past few years (my own observations in culture) suggests that consumers are increasingly interested in knowing how things are made, where materials come from, and what brands are really doing to make products responsibly. This has become fairly commonplace in food culture with supermarkets listing the country and sometimes even farm of origin of produce, but in fashion there is still a long way to go in terms of transparency and traceability, and how (especially high street) retailers communicate this to customers.
For customers who make their own clothing, being able to incorporate fabric purchases into other shopping trips simply adds brand loyalty (I speak from experience), and the displays reinforce a sense that the retailer (and/or their buyer) has a real understanding of materials. But even if not every customer has the time nor inclination to make their own garments (and realistically, not everyone has the luxury of time to do so), having a space to see a step back in the process has brand building benefits - and can inspire purchases of clothing made with that same material. In much the same way that the Liberty fabric department provides an extra layer of legitimacy and brand authority to any products that use the Liberty prints and fabrics (many of which are sold elsewhere in the department store), a haberdashery department that shows customers the fabric before it becomes readymade clothing adds a level of trust and expertise to the retailer’s role as clothing curator.
Community
Last but certainly not least is the element of community that can be built around makership. Whether it’s a knitting circle or a mending lesson, people who make things tend to enjoying sharing what they make and do it in the company of people with shared interests - whether that’s in an online or physical community. Organizing events that center around classes and DIY sessions is an opportunity to build up an engaged community around a brand, and provide another reason to come into a physical store, so that it becomes a kind of third place centered around a specific activity. This seems to be something that only small haberdashery and craft shops do at the moment, but it’s something that even bigger department stores could learn from, especially if they’re already in the business of selling home appliances (sewing requires sewing machines and good irons, after all).
The Village Haberdashery - a shop, classroom, and social space
Whilst it seems unlikely that we will go back to the days of every garment we wear being constructed uniquely for us or by us, retailers have much to gain - both in brand building and in extending their offering - by looking to ‘past’ ways of shopping as they look towards the future. For many, haberdashery departments and stores may seem outdated or inefficient, but as I look around at trends in the fashion industry and in retail more broadly (think of all the restaurants starting to sell their raw materials during lockdowns, many of whom haven’t looked back) I believe that there is an opportunity in revitalizing and restoring the sale and understanding of the materials that make our clothing - and I hope let us all embrace the possibility of creativity and individuality that comes from a unique, homemade item of clothing.
