Wallace Sewell + London Transport Museum

As a design studio, we have worked with TfL on numerous moquette designs over the last thirteen years and still pinch ourselves that millions of people sit on our fabric as they travel around London.

In 2013, we designed an exclusive limited collection with London Transport Museum for the 150th anniversary of the Underground. The range was incredibly popular, so a decade on, we revisited that design and updated it for 2023!

The new collection 'Tube 160' still includes all the colours of the Underground lines, intersected with the Overground line, but has the addition of the Tram and DLR lines, and the all-important new Elizabeth line. They now traverse across a sophisticated steel grey background, and the design has been condensed so the scarf carries the full pattern. 

Our design process unites traditional techniques with technology and modern industrial production: we usually begin with sketches or yarn windings, but because we already had the basis of the 150th design to work with, this time we started on computers and designed digitally. From there, we used the handlooms in our studios to create swatches to explore woven structures and the interplay of the colours of the warp and weft.

As usual, the team at Mitchell Interflex manufactured the fabric at their historic mill in Lancashire. The Wallace Sewell workroom team hand-cut each product, quality checked for imperfections, labeled and packaged them before dispatch to the London Transport Museum shop!

Available only from the London Transport Museum, the exclusive Tube 160 Wallace Sewell Collection features a classic tasselled scarf, woven in soft merino lambswool, alongside a practical tote bag, a zipped purse, and a cross-body bag.

We are honoured to be a part of the history of TfL and London Transport Museum. We hope that we have interpreted the iconic Tube map, originally designed by Harry Beck in 1933, in a modern, yet timeless way: instantly recognisable, yet subtle enough to be worn by anyone!

Did you know that of the 15 routes represented in this design, over half currently sport moquette designs by Wallace Sewell on their seating?