Biba Shop, Biba Clothes | 1960s Clothing

If you were an “It Girl” in London during the 1960s and 1970, Biba is where you would have shopped. Aimed at the teens and twenty-somethings, Biba offered cheap, stylish clothing with a fresh and innovative style. Biba has a long history that started with offering clothes by mail order, branched out into boutiques, and than faded away- only to attempt comebacks twice, once in 1978 and again in 2006.

Behind the brand was a woman named Barbara Hulanicki and her husband, Stephen Fitz-Simmon. The Biba brand often reflected what was going on in Hulanicki’s life during a certain time period- for example, when she had a child in 1967 Biba produced children’s clothing. She started as a fashion illustrator, but quickly decided she was happier designing and selling garments. After Biba closed its doors, Hulanicki went on to design for other fashion houses and produce a successful children’s fashion line in Japan.

The Biba craze started with a newspaper advertisement for a free dress to readers of the Daily Mirror, styled like one worn by starlet Bridgette Bardot. As they eventually handed out 17,000 of these dresses, a Biba shop was quickly opened up. They made history as Biba sold out every single dress on the floor in one hour, and sold out their entire stock before the end of the day. Five years later they moved into a much bigger boutique, and than ten years later a seven story Biba store opened up and soon became not only an immensely popular shopping spot, but a tourist destination as well.

The Biba style was the classically youthful, androgynous look of swinging ‘60s London. Mini skirts, shifts, tunic smocks, baby doll dresses, sleek suits, tee-shirts, and floppy hats peppered the sales floor, in shades both muted and bold. Biba’s main appeal was not comfort, but the fact that they offered popular, celebrity styled garments for super-low prices that anyone could afford.

Biba has enjoyed one extremely effective venture since the original stores- a collection by Biba, sold in Topshop stores in 2009. After this and two previous comebacks, neither of which were successful, Biba will probably never return to its former glory. It will, however, always be remembered as the fashion leader of the 1960s.