News
Camira moquette featured on Transport for London's Elizabeth Line
May 18, 2022byRebecca Hamer
As proud textile suppliers to Transport for London, we are delighted to see the imminent launch of the new Elizabeth Line. An incredible feat of engineering, the high-speed route will cover more than 100km, stop at 41 accessible stations – 10 of them new – and is expected to service around 200 million London commuters and visitors each year.
Officially opening on May 24th 2022, the railway features a custom moquette, designed by Wallace Sewell, and made by Camira to meet the highest of performance and safety standards.
A wire woven moquette brings a soft tactility to the seats.
Sarah Mallinson, Senior Transport Designer at Camira, describes the type of fabric featured on the new line: “The Elizabeth Line fabric is a wire woven moquette (the iconic transport textile, seen across all lines on the London Underground) and this type of textile is actually restricted to just four colours in each vertical line due to the setup of the looms. We worked within these parameters to create a weaving pattern that encapsulated the different colours, provided tactility through a cut and loop textured pile, and reflected the design exactly – as well as meeting the flammability standard BS6853 Cat 1A, ensuring it delivers the safety that is of paramount importance for all transport textiles.”
"It was a huge honour to bring the Elizabeth Line design to life in fabric. The end result is distinctive and contemporary - with an elegant nod to the monarch it represents.”
Sarah Mallinson, Senior Transport Designer at Camira
The regal colour palette has layers of warmth and depth.
Describing the inspiration behind the fabric's colour palette, Sarah said: “Purple has been associated with royalty for centuries – traditionally the most expensive colour dye to produce, the shade was reserved for kings, queens and aristocracy, and that connotation has remained in place to this day. So, when creating a fabric which honoured Queen Elizabeth, Transport for London opted for ever-regal purple.
Wallace Sewell then used this brief to develop a palette which started with the distinctive colour of the line and added in warmer and lighter shades to create a fabric which appears purple at first glance, with layers of depth and warmth upon close inspection. When it came to bringing this design to life in fabric, we created yarns which exactly reflected the Pantone references used in Wallace Sewell’s drawings. The end result is distinctive and contemporary, with an elegant nod to the monarch it represents.”
