When I was in London last summer, I attended a fabulous fashion exhibit at The London Fashion and Textile museum. This was all about the iconic and famous boutique Biba, from the groovy London fashion era of 1964 -1975.
Barbara Hulanicki, who was a fashion illustrator, designed a few affordable clothing items for a mail order catalog in 1963. These items took off, and before long Barbara and her husband launched what is now considered a “fashion phenomenon” in Biba, a boutique that embodied the spirit of a time in fashion and culture in London in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s. What a time for fashion that was!
I enjoyed walking through the exhibit and looking at the clothing, textile and color combinations, and the details that made Biba what it was. One thing that struck me personally, is that I feel about Biba, a similar aesthetic to Anna Sui’s vibe today. Does that make sense? I am not sure if Anna Sui is inspired by Biba, but I feel she must be! I have always liked Anna Sui’s look and feel so that’s a reason I also really enjoyed learning about Biba.
Biba was a place where the youth culture thrived and it changed the world of retail, and makeup as well. I purchased the autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki in the museum gift shop and it was such an enjoyable read! If you love fashion, especially the 60’s you will enjoy the book. It helped me tap into the time period. One thing I found interesting is that Barbara used to mix her own makeup with white paint because in those days the perfect shade could not be found. It was also fascinating to learn about how she and her husband worked together and grew their business, the girls who worked there who were basically ” 60’s dolly” models, the customers at that time, and various challenges and humorous stories. I felt like I was in the late 60’s myself when reading that. (Oh and I had just finished reading Pattie Boyd’s book ‘Wonderful Tonight’ right before this book and the two go great together!)
Looking at some of these photos from the exhibit, I see many that would be perfectly modern looking today. I can see these inspiring some sewing projects for me later. What do you think about these clothes?
Below is a video I found on youtube about Biba you might enjoy.
What do you think?