Carolina Herrera inaugurates the exhibition 'Maestras' at the Thyssen Museum: "There will always be a place for creativity"
Michaela Stark, designer and artist: "I draw attention to the body parts we were taught to be ashamed of"
The
Beatles
were triumphing in the United States,
Lulu
broke into the pop hit list at the age of 15 with 'Shout' and in London a cultural phenomenon emerged that would revolutionize the international commercial landscape. We fly back to 1964, when
Biba
settled in an old pharmacy in Kensington with a
boutique
concept that would be
an avant-garde reference
for post-war youth and subsequent generations. The evolution of the store is explored in the exhibition
'The Biba Story, 1964-1975',
which the Fashion and Textile Museum is hosting at its headquarters south of the Thames
until September 8.
Barbara Hulanicki,
creator of the brand, has collaborated in the selection of content for the exhibition, which brings together a
hundred garments,
accessories and relics of the paraphernalia that decorated or were for sale in its four
Biba
stores
. She presents
unpublished fashion illustrations
and recovers
catalogues
,
photographs
and
documents
from a business she started with her late husband,
Stephen Fitzsimon,
whom everyone called Fitz.
When being young was a degree
"We are young and youth is on our side.
Youth is what matters,"
Ringo Starr
said
in the same year, 1964. The Beatle's message would not surprise Hulanicki, who recognized the importance - and the urgency - of the 'teenager'. , who lived with independence and a certain economic ease the
eruption of pop
and
'swinging London',
as 'Time' magazine baptized the decade. "The common denominator was
youth
and
rebellion
against the establishment," writes the designer in 'From A to Biba and Back Again'. Her rebellious credentials did not prevent her from receiving the
medal of the Order of the British Empire
for services to the industry.
An aspect of the exhibition about Biba.© Fashion and Textile Museum
Clothes for babies who grew up beautiful and skeletal
Hulanicki poured ideas, creations and business philosophy into a clear objective: British and foreign fifteen- and twenty-somethings, to whom he supplied products and styles, anticipating their needs. "We were not interested in
high society,
but in
real people
on the street," he remarks in his biography. He identified gaps that were opening in the cupboards due to the outdated offering of traditional establishments, which were still focused on clientele aged thirty and up, and designed the "uniform of the era." "They were the
post-war babies
who, deprived of nutritious proteins in childhood, grew up
beautiful
and
skeletal
. A designer's dream! Not much had to be done to make them stand out. The simpler and shorter, the better," he recalls.
Affordable
and
accessible
to everyone. This mantra guided the project of the entrepreneurial couple. Bibi sold dresses for about three euros in Kensington when
Mary Quant
's minis
did not go below 30 euros in her 'Bazaar' in Chelsea. Carnaby Street, the other mainstay of youth fashion, leaned towards the male universe of gays, 'teddy boys', 'rockers' or 'mods'.
It was Fitz who convinced his wife to return to fashion design and test the waters of
mail-order sales.
He brought commercial instinct from his job as a publicist and a keen eye for finding suppliers and venues tailored to his interests. Hulanicki had studied art in Brighton - she emigrated to the coastal city when her father, a Polish diplomat stationed in Palestine, was murdered in Jerusalem in 1947 - and she prospered as an
illustrator of fashion collections
for various publications.
The first super hit: a pink checkered dress
The couple hit the target with a
pink checkered dress,
with an opening in the back, which they combined with a scarf in the "style of Brigitte Bardot in Saint Tropez." The 'Daily Mirror' newspaper echoed the proposal and the mailbox of the newly registered
Biba Postal Boutique
overflowed. They received
17,000 orders
for the simple outfit, which ensured the takeoff of the pioneering fashion project in constant replenishment. An original of the popular 'Gingham' is on display at the retrospective.
The best-selling pink Gingham dress.© Fashion and Textile Museum
Twiggy
was among the first waves of customers, before modeling the seasonal creations. And curiously, she was one of the few teenagers who asked for an item of clothing to be reduced. In promotional campaigns she impresses in the classic leopard print coat, which she wears backstage reminiscent of Egypt. In another photograph, she poses alone and melancholy in the
Big Biba restaurant
, the "most beautiful store in the world", according to testimonies from the time. She is sitting on the edge of a row of tables in the Rainbow Room, the rainbow room that illuminated the ceiling of the gigantic space, where
The New York Dolls
and other bands performed before an anonymous audience and stars like
Elton John
and
Eno.
Hulanicki and Fitz poured their dreams into the Kensington High Street location. They occupied a department store from the 1930s, with six floors plus a rooftop with live flamingos and artificial foxes. They set up
sections
for "children, lolitas and pregnant women", for
women's and men's fashion;
furniture
and
decorative
items;
makeup
,
stationery
and
accessories
;
of cleaning and food products.
The exhibition shows jars of pistachios, bottles of wine and cans of lentils labeled with the house's seal. Each design reproduces with slight variations the unmistakable
deco typography logo
and golden geometric symbols on a black background of the legendary brand. Old customers still store their socks in Biba cans. The liquidation of the remains, in September 1975, led to a frenetic spectacle.
Much more than a boutique
Big Biba offered a "lifestyle", a
meeting point,
the place to be seen and observe the action. Employees risked losing their jobs if they approached customers with apparent courtesy because the boss refused to create "another 'can I help you with something, ma'am?' shop." "I wanted the clientele to feel at home, not persecuted by saleswomen," Hulanicki comments in his memoirs.
Julie Christie, Cilla Black, Mick Jagger, Sandie Shaw, Sonny
and
Cher
and
Barbra Streisand,
among other celebrities, visited the famous Kensington establishment. Of the 'Biba girls',
Mary Austin
was a partner of
Freddie Mercury
and her companions dated members of
Roxy Music
and
The New York Dolls.
The music of both groups was part of the store's soundtrack, along with new releases from
Bowie, Cockney Rebel, The Pointer Sisters
and
T Rex.
The couple lost the company in a corporate coup by the majority shareholder and moved to Sao Paulo and later to Miami. Hulanicki remains active, at 87, in fashion and interior design with a particular gift for renovating 'art deco' buildings.
London