BARBARA HULANICKI

Fashion Profile: Barbara Hulanicki

Barbara Hulanicki built her brand "Biba", named after her younger sister, from a mail order company. It soon grew into one of the most influential and popular clothing shops of the 60s & 70s.

Born: 1936

Famous for: Founding BIBA, so popular in the 60s and 70s that is has been relaunched in England.

Style Characteristics: Maxi dresses and bold, individual prints.

Early Life

Barbara Hulanicki was born in Warsaw, to Polish parents, however she was brought to England at a young age. 

Hulanicki studied at Brighton School of Art, and began an early career drawing illustrations for popular fashion magazines such as Vogue and Tatler.

   These illustrations were extremely ornate and led to her designing her own clothes, rather than drawing others'...

Mail Order

Although Barbara only had a few designs, she began to sell them in small quantities through adverts in newspapers such as The Daily Mirror. 

Hulanicki was surprised that the designs sold out so fast as she could only afford to produce them in one size and style. The first design she sold was a pink gingham dress, similar to one style icon, Brigitte Bardot, had worn around the same time. 

As popularity grew, Barbara Hulanicki felt pressure to create her own brand and line of clothing. This led to the launch of "Biba". 

The first shop was in Kensington, a fashionable part of London at the time it opened in September 1964. The shop opened at 10am and everything was sold out by 11, "no one asked if there were any other styles or sizes".

The shops' main target market was teenage girls as in the late 50s/early 60s, there weren't any specialist clothes for fashion conscious teenagers. Barbara observed this and created a revolutionary brand specifically to bring new styles of dress to an audience that was in need of a change.

Big Biba

After many changes in location, Biba had evolved into a brand. Hulanicki was now designing for everyone - menswear, children's clothes, maternity wear and make-up were now added to her collection. 

In 1974, Biba was housed in a seven-storey department store (attracting up to a million customers weekly). It became a tourist attraction as Barbara Hulanicki had created a shopping experience as well as a brand.

It soon became known as "Big Biba" and the Art Deco-interior was reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Although Barbara was introducing new styles to fashion conscious Londoners, she was greatly influenced by the Twenties. The models and sales assistants wore dark make-up, not dissimilar to that worn by Josephine Baker or Louise Brooks.

"Big Biba" grew in popularity, and was favoured by the rock and fashion glitterati (such as Twiggy, Bianca and Mick Jagger).

Biba's Demise

Bib Biba was a huge responsibility financially and Barbara Hulanicki decided to sell her company off.

Barbara moved to Miami and carried out a career as an interior designer, a continuation of her combined love for Art Deco and illustration.

Biba is Back

Since its demise, Barbara has continued designing clothes, most notably for Topshop, and following such success has decided to relaunch Biba in England. 

The designs and styles that defined the 60s and 70s remain similar, as Barbara noticed the rise in popularity of vintage fashion. 

-CLICK HERE TO READ MY ARTICLE ON THE RETURN OF BIBA-


"There is very little difference today as opposed to the ‘70s, although, there is much more choice now. Both periods share the same enthusiasm, if you press the right buttons."

-Barbara Hulanicki

-CLICK HERE FOR BARBARA HULANICKI'S WEBSITE-

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-CLICK HERE TO SEE BIBA'S LATEST COLLECTIONS-

THE RETURN OF BIBA

Written ages ago but I thought I should post it ...

THE RETURN OF BIBA!

Biba was the most glorious fashion retailer of the 60’s and 70’s. It was the original brainchild of Barbara Hulanicki, a skilled fashion illustrator-turned-designer from Jerusalem. Hulanicki’s family moved to England when she was just a child.

Unlike most of the fashion retailers of today, Biba had humble beginnings and started off as a tiny mail-order boutique with a few cheap garments all cut to the same skinny size. Barbara wanted her designs to take off quickly and the first dress to become popular (and make the brand famous) was a simple gingham shift dress. This dress was advertised in the Daily Mirror and quickly went out of stock and into the homes of thousands of fashionable teenagers living in the UK, almost faster than she could have made them.

   After such a success, Hulanicki opened her first shop in Kensington in 1964, this became instantly popular as the young and fashionable flocked to pick up the cheap, wearable and devastatingly fashionable designs.

The Biba label went from strength to strength, it soon moved from its small shop to a massive department store on Kensington High Street – and so Big Biba was born.

   Big Biba seemed to answer the dreams of young women everywhere as it offered a luxurious and unique shopping experience. Then Art Nouveau label became intensely desirable, and appeared on everything in the store – from art-deco suit jackets to baked bean cans.

   The interior of the shop was also luxuriant and of an art deco 1930s style, rather than a 70s shop. For many, the Biba store was not simply a place to purchase, it was something to be viewed, marvelled at. Big Biba soon became a fashionable tourist attraction, just as Harrods or Hamleys is today.

   Big Biba sold everything: men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, groceries, shoes, make-up, accessories, playing cards, souvenirs and more. To add to its opulence, there was also a roof garden with live flamingos.

   Sadly, the wonderful dream that was Biba, was not to last. Behind all the extravagance and fashion design, the Biba label failed to keep up with the trends, and Barbara was powerless to defend her invention when there were arguments over creative control.

In 1975, Biba closed its doors and so ended a British icon.

The Biba Look

Made for the impossibly slim teenager and young adult, Barbara described the perfect Biba girls as ‘fresh little foals with long legs, bright faces and round dolly eyes’. The clothes themselves were frequently dark, romantic and owed much to the styles of previous decades- Art Deco especially. The colour palette, save for the odd venture into the more sequinned 70's glam look, stayed resolutely dark and rich- plums, rusty browns and inky blues. Some common features of Biba clothes include high arm holes, bishop sleeves and covered buttons. Today vintage Biba clothes are incredibly desirable and reasonably rare- however, if you want a piece of wearable history, they are not unattainable. Saddened by the story of Biba’s demise? Not to fear! Biba is back! Situated in House of Fraser department stores, Biba sells current designs with a 60s/70s edge. Definitely something to look out for! The look of Biba in 2010 is being stylishly advertised by the gorgeous model, Daisy Lowe who matches Hulanicki’s description of the perfect consumer for Biba. The new collection exhibits luxurious fabrics as well as cutting edge fashion, to appeal to today’s consumers. Biba seems to be as successful as ever.