Celebrating the Biba Phenomenon

Photo: Duffy © Duffy Archive

Artist and designer Barbara Hulanicki is the woman who dressed the “Swinging sixties”. Her life story, the legendary boutique Biba and her designs will soon be revealed at a new exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London – opening on the 22. of March.

English model Twiggy models a leopardskin robe against an ancient Egyptian-style backdrop at Biba’s Kensington store, 1971. Photo: Justin de Villeneuve / Iconic Images

The exhibition is curated by Martin Pel, who also co-wrote the book “The Biba Years: 1963-1975” along with Hulanicki and promises a revealing look at the fashion revolution of the 1960s and ’70s through the groundbreaking, hip, and legendary London emporium Biba, also known as “the most beautiful store in the world.”

Photo: Duffy © Duffy Archive

Biba was founded in 1963 by designer Barbara Hulanicki. First located on Abdington Road the shop, with it’s extremely glamourous style quickly gained cult status and outgrew several locations before the five-story “Big Biba” opened in 1973. The building on Kensington High Street had a roof garden and was the hangout so much more than just a boutique, it was a hangout for musicians, models, artists and stylists.

Twiggy in the Biba fashion store for an article about the designer Barbara Hulanicki in British Vogue, December 1973. Photo: Justin de Villeneuve / Iconic Images

Celebs of the day could be found sipping cocktails upstairs amongst the flamingos that lived in the Roof Garden, or in the Rainbow Room, where on a good night there might be a live performance by the likes of the New York Dolls, Liberace or The Manhattan Transfer – according to Steven Thomas who has also written a book about this legendary London boutique: “Welcome to Big Biba: Inside the Most Beautiful Store in the World”.

English model Twiggy sits alone in the Rainbow Room of Biba’s Kensington store, 1971. Photo: Justin de Villeneuve / Iconic Images

Martin Pel is the brilliant curator and author of several great publications, like “Gluck: Art & Identity” which was accompanied by a successful exhhibition at The Royal Pavillion and Museums in Brighton a few years back, and the book “1920’s Jazz Age Fashion”. To have him delve into the luxurious world of plum, mauve, blueberry and rust art deco esthetics of Hulanicki’s Biba is a dream come rue for fashion history nerds.

Photo: Duffy © Duffy Archive

A sneak peek in the book reveals a wealth of previously unpublished material, including full-color facsimiles of the six luxurious Biba catalogs and archival photographs, “The Biba Decade”-looks which was one of the first retailers to bring affordable fashion to young consumers. According to Twiggy, the supermodel of the day: “Not only did the clothes look amazing, you could afford to buy something every week”.

English model Twiggy stretches out on a leopardskin bed at Biba’s Kensington store, 1971. Photo: Justin de Villeneuve / Iconic Images

Stunning new photography documents the unique Biba look, and the designer – now residing in Miami – and her contemporaries offer their personal insights.