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Introduction

Moquette is the durable, woollen seating material that is used in upholstery on public transport all over the world.

Coming from the French word for carpet, moquette has been seen and sat upon by millions of commuters on buses, trains, trams and trolleybuses for over 100 years

It is produced on looms using the Jacquard weaving technique, with a pile usually made up of 85% wool mixed with 15% nylon.

Moquette was chosen for public transport for two reasons. First, because it is hard wearing and durable. Second, because its colour and patterns disguise signs of dirt, wear and tear. On top of this moquette had the advantage of being easy and cheap to mass-produce.

The first moquettes

Moquette was first applied to public transport seating in London in the 1920s when the patterns were designed by the manufacturers.

The first moquette pattern was called Lozenge, made in 1923 by Firth Furnishings Ltd. It followed the fashions in home furnishings and art deco styles of the day.

Creation of London Transport

With the creation of London Transport in the 1930s, Chief Executive, Frank Pick and his Publicity Officer, Christian Barman commissioned established artists and designers to create stylish, contemporary patterns for the Capital’s transport system.

Under Pick’s direction, design was key to producing and promoting a quality public transport system.

It was at this time that moquette was transformed from a practical seating fabric to a design icon.

Textile designers such as Enid Marx, Marion Dorn and Paul Nash were commissioned by London Transport to produce exclusive moquette designs.

Geometric and contemporary, these new moquettes were radically different from the floral patterns produced previously. This ‘Leaf’ or ‘Colindale’ moquette was introduced in the 1940s.

The designs were used on a variety of tubes, buses and trolleybuses during this period and had to work well in daylight and artificial light.

The Routemaster

In the 1950s, industrial designer Douglas Scott was commissioned to design the Routemaster.

The new double decker bus became a design classic as well as a symbol of London. Scott devised the colour scheme for the interior of the Routemaster carefully; the maroon, yellow and green of the interior mirrored in the moquette design.

This moquette was introduced in 1961.

The Victoria line

The next development in moquette design began in 1964 and was born out of the work of Professor Misha Black. Black worked as a design consultant on the construction of the Victoria line, coordinating every aspect of its design.

Professional designers Marianne Straub, Jacqueline Groag and the Orbit Design Group were commissioned to design a new moquette to highlight the newness of the line.

However, due to the limited time scale these designs were never used and a design already developed for the A stock was used instead.

This blue and green moquette was widely used across rail and road vehicles, including 1972 and 1973 tube stock and several London Transport buses.

Giving lines an identity

During the 1990s London Underground experimented with giving each line its own moquette to give each line its separate identity. This moquette was designed for the Central line and introduced on 1992-tube stock.

Moquette patterns were designed specifically for use on certain lines, incorporating the colour of the line as well as complementing the colours used throughout the carriage.

Moquette today

Today, moquette patterns can be designed in house by Transport for London, or by an external design company.

Often there are many people involved in the development of a new moquette design or colourway. The colours and patterns have evolved over time, but the tradition of producing distinctive designs continues today.

This moquette, from 2010, is called ‘Barman’ or ‘Landmark’ and features four iconic London landmarks. Can you spot them all?

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