Description
Biba dominated London fashion from the mid-1960s, defining the dress and outlook of a generation. Celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the opening of the first Biba boutique, this book takes a revealing look at Biba through the words and images of the people who were intimately involved with the company and its phenomenal success.
Established in 1963 as Biba Postal Boutique-a small mail-order company selling inexpensive clothing for women and children-by 1973 Biba was a seven-story department store on London's Kensington High Street. Customers could fill their wardrobe and furnish their home with Biba products; Biba had become the world's first lifestyle label. Shoppers could buy a tin of Biba baked beans, take tea on Europe's largest roof garden, or watch live music performances by the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, and Liberace in the 500-seat Rainbow Room.
Created by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, Biba was made in the image of its staff and customers. Selling up-to-the-minute and affordable clothing, Biba appealed to teenagers and young women of the postwar generation, becoming the fashion destination of the Swinging Sixties and Seventies. Biba was the place to see and to be seen; its doors were open to everyone, from the Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, and Twiggy to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.
Biba: The Fashion Brand That Defined A Generation includes photographs by Helmut Newton, Sarah Moon, and Duffy, as well as never-before-seen ephemera from Hulanicki's personal archive. Interviews with the people closest to Biba bring these images and objects to life, while recollections and anecdotes from Hulanicki herself shine a new light on the very personal nature of Biba as a business.
About the Author
Barbara Hulanicki launched Biba with her husband and business partner, Stephen Fitz-Simon, in 1963. Hulanicki continues to design for numerous companies and across many design disciplines. Martin Pel is curator of fashion and textiles at the Royal Pavilion & Museums in Brighton. He curated Biba and Beyond: Barbara Hulanicki and cowrote with Hulanicki The Biba Years: 1963-1975.
Reviews
"Biba continues to exert a fascination both among its original customers and today's young fashion buffs-testament to its lasting appeal."-Dominic Lutyens, BBC Style
"Biba was for anyone. . . . It wasn't like any other shop I had ever seen. Biba was Barbara Hulanicki, an extraordinary, wonderful woman. I feel very lucky to count her among my friends."-Dame Twiggy Lawson
"In the 1990s I had a Biba dress that I lived in. I love Biba and I wear the pieces I still can from my archive. The others I have passed on to Lila; I get so much joy seeing her in them."-Kate Moss
Book Information
ISBN 9780300279023
Author Barbara Hulanicki
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Established in 1963 as Biba Postal Boutique-a small mail-order company selling inexpensive clothing for women and children-by 1973 Biba was a seven-story department store on London's Kensington High Street. Customers could fill their wardrobe and furnish their home with Biba products; Biba had become the world's first lifestyle label. Shoppers could buy a tin of Biba baked beans, take tea on Europe's largest roof garden, or watch live music performances by the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, and Liberace in the 500-seat Rainbow Room.
Created by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, Biba was made in the image of its staff and customers. Selling up-to-the-minute and affordable clothing, Biba appealed to teenagers and young women of the postwar generation, becoming the fashion destination of the Swinging Sixties and Seventies. Biba was the place to see and to be seen; its doors were open to everyone, from the Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, and Twiggy to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.
Biba: The Fashion Brand That Defined A Generation includes photographs by Helmut Newton, Sarah Moon, and Duffy, as well as never-before-seen ephemera from Hulanicki's personal archive. Interviews with the people closest to Biba bring these images and objects to life, while recollections and anecdotes from Hulanicki herself shine a new light on the very personal nature of Biba as a business.
About the Author
Barbara Hulanicki launched Biba with her husband and business partner, Stephen Fitz-Simon, in 1963. Hulanicki continues to design for numerous companies and across many design disciplines. Martin Pel is curator of fashion and textiles at the Royal Pavilion & Museums in Brighton. He curated Biba and Beyond: Barbara Hulanicki and cowrote with Hulanicki The Biba Years: 1963-1975.
Reviews
"Biba continues to exert a fascination both among its original customers and today's young fashion buffs-testament to its lasting appeal."-Dominic Lutyens, BBC Style
"Biba was for anyone. . . . It wasn't like any other shop I had ever seen. Biba was Barbara Hulanicki, an extraordinary, wonderful woman. I feel very lucky to count her among my friends."-Dame Twiggy Lawson
"In the 1990s I had a Biba dress that I lived in. I love Biba and I wear the pieces I still can from my archive. The others I have passed on to Lila; I get so much joy seeing her in them."-Kate Moss
Book Information
ISBN 9780300279023
Author Barbara Hulanicki
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
