Kirkby takes Transport for London upholstery from carriage seat to contemporary interior

Have you ever stopped to admire the textiles upholstering the seats of the London Underground? The moquette fabric that covers them has become almost as iconic as the Transport for London roundel itself. Each line has its own motif, the most recognisable, perhaps, being Wallace Sewell’s 2010 ‘Barman’ design – a rhythmic composition that references city landmarks, reinterpreted in various constructions and colourways across the network.

TfL’s moquettes are more than hard-wearing seat coverings. They are visual and cultural signatures, instantly recognisable to riders and enthusiasts. These patterns have transcended the carriage interior, appearing in homewares and even fashion – a recent example is TfL’s ongoing collaboration with textile house Kirkby, whose third joint collection has just launched.

'Underground Vol. III' revisits eight archival moquette designs – used across the Underground and wider transport system from the 1910s – and transforms them into luxury upholstery velvets suitable for modern interiors. The collection experiments with scale, texture and trend-led colour palettes while preserving each pattern’s historic character.

Many of these designs trace their origins to the 1930s, when London Transport’s publicity officer, Christian Barman, commissioned leading artists and designers, including Marion Dorn, Enid Marx, Paul Nash and, later, Marianne Straub, to elevate transport interiors with bold, modern textiles. Their work transformed purely functional upholstery into a form of public art.

In Kirkby’s collection, ‘Chalfont’ revives a floral moquette once used in the first-class compartments of the Metropolitan Railway’s steam locomotives. Echoing the opulence of early rail travel, the design has been hand-drawn and woven as a two-tone cut-and-uncut velvet.

Elsewhere, ‘Brent’ is based on a 1936 design by Enid Marx, featuring a vibrant diamond motif that once upholstered District line carriages. Kirkby preserves its geometric precision while enhancing its depth and tactility through a cut-and-uncut velvet construction. ‘Caledonian’, inspired by a 1938 design by Marion Dorn for the Metropolitan line, reinterprets a classic tartan check, here simplified into a graphic, retro-inflected velvet. ‘Eden’ references a 1930s art deco-style houndstooth used on trams and trolleybuses – including the 601 route between Twickenham and Tolworth – refined into a smaller-scale, versatile velvet.

‘Bromley’ reimagines a 1960s stripe produced by Birr Fabrics for London Transport coaches as an all-velvet pile in contrasting tones. ‘Piccadilly’ draws on a 1994 geometric moquette introduced during refurbishment of 1970s Tube stock, its fragmented pattern reworked in cut and uncut velvet. ‘Northern’, which takes cues from a 1965 design by Marianne Straub once seen across multiple Underground lines and London’s double-decker buses, sees its interlocking geometric blocks enlarged to create a graphic statement. Finally, ‘Bakerloo’ translates a 1960s geometric moquette from refurbished Tube trains into a richly tactile, three-dimensional fabric.

Through thoughtful reinterpretation, 'Underground Vol. III' demonstrates how these historic moquettes continue to resonate – not only as nostalgic emblems, but as enduring examples of British textile innovation. In reweaving the past for contemporary spaces, Kirkby affirms that great design, even within settings as mundane as a morning commute, can leave a lasting impression.

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