Biba – Barbara Hulanicki

It was in the 1970s when high fashion was defined by wearing uncomfortable smocks of “Auntie Colors,” consisting of rusts, blueberries, plum and blackish mulberries, and miniskirts that get shorter every week. It was also in this era when teenagers or twenty year old women had bright faces, round dolly eyes and long legs with fresh little foals. This was called “The Biba Look.”

In 1964, Barbara Hulanicki, the creative genius behind Biba, started her legendary label with an inexpensive line of sheer blouses, micro minis and lithe smocks available through mail order. Her first store was characterized by an Art Nouveau lounge scene and blacked out windows.

It all started when her very first shop became flooded with girls who were all trying on the same brown pinstripe dress. Barbara remembered that none of the girls even asked for any other style or size. She later described that her customers were “postwar babies,” lacking protein nourishment in their childhood resulting in a skinny body when they grew up. It appealed to them because of the clothes’ affordability – for less than 10% of the weekly earnings of an average London girl, she could share the look of famous icons she saw on TV. This made them feel very special.

After five years, Dennis Day and Dorothy Perkins bought a majority of the stake in the company, paving way for the creation of Biba Ltd. The brand expanded into cosmetics, home goods and children's clothing. It moved to Derry & Toms seven-story department store in 1974. The building because a tourist attraction because of the way each department – men’s, children’s the food market, the bookstore and the home department – had its own logo based on the famous Biba logo.

Shortly after in 1975, Barbara left the empire after disagreements over creative control. Her spirit broken, she and her husband went to Brazil. The British Land Company closed Biba. The building along with the brand’s trademark was bought by a group without any relations to Barbara.

In 2006, designer Bella Freud tried to relaunch the label but after two collections it ceased to exist. In 2010, House of Fraser put the iconic fashion back in the limelight when its in-house designers brought life back to the beloved label.

After the demise of her husband, Barbara Hulanicki moved to Miami and set out a new career for herself – renovating prestigious hotels.