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This London exhibition celebrates a progressive icon who has mostly been forgotten, says Emma Hollamby “It isn’t just dresses, it’s a whole way of life,” Biba founder, Barbara Hulanicki (1970). That’s the main message from The Biba Story, 1964-1975, now open at the Fashion and Textile Museum. Those who know the name will have an image in their mind at the mere mention of Biba.

Mine is the luxe, art nouveau gold logo, or skinny bell sleeves cascading from tiny shoulders in deep plum purples. At its height, Biba held a seven storey ‘lifestyle’ department store on Kensington High Street featuring Europe’s largest roof garden (replete with flamingos), a five hundred cover restaurant hosting bands such as The Doors and New York Dolls, and a cult celebrity following. Sounds exclusive.



Yet Hulanicki’s egalitarian outlook meant everyone could be a little bit Biba. On entering the show, womenswear brand Biba’s humble mail order beginnings are remembered through the display of a (replica) pink, gingham mini dress with matching headscarf. Advertised in The Daily Mirror, the dress received 17,000 orders.

One year later the first Biba Boutique opened on Abingdon Road. Read more: Fashion brand loved by celebrities and known for £110 t-shirts to open second store in Soho Collections represent the different shops but also Biba’s life cycles, from the 60’s Biba Girl to the 70’s Biba Woman and the 1974-75 Biba ..

. well, everything. A large part of Biba’s charm is i.

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