From A to Biba - the autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki. Published by V&A and available to buy here
Barbara Hulanicki founded Biba, the most exciting shopping experience of the late 1960s through to the 70s and probably of all time. This book is a rollercoaster tale of the rise and sad fall of Biba that will have you inspired to imagine endless possibilities.
Anna first introduced me to Biba whilst we were at Uni, I never liked Sixties design (something I still class as evil most of the time) and wasn't immediately drawn to this subject. She then showed me an illustrated Biba book that had just been published. Seeing the parchment pages and scribbled drawings of 'In Biba' I eventually got it. Biba is exciting and so is the whole story.
Branding, business and fearless creativity are what it's all about. Fashion was the starting point that led onto a whole department store of the Biba brand, Biba baked beans, Biba make up, Biba rock star gigs, Biba flamingos!
I'm amazed that there is so little of Biba left now, I have found the odd dress but they aren't really the exciting part. My most treasured item is an original mail order catalogue. I will share this at another date, Biba can fill pages and pages of blog posts!
Just read the book. Xxx
1 comments:
at: 5 September 2012 16:50 said...
I remember going to the Biba shop in Kensington high St when I was about 11, so early 70s. It was like an Aladdin's cave. There were accessories (hats, beads, feather boas) piled up and on Victorian hatstands to try on with the clothes. All the boys behind the counters has plucked eyebrows and wore make up. The decor was art deco meets psychedelia - truly amazing. We were all so sad when the shop closed down. A franchise in a department store is just not the same!
Post a Comment