Inspiring Monday's: Behind The Scenes at Biba

At Betty we have always had a little bit of an obsession with the iconic brand Biba, founded as a mail order business by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Fitz Simon in 1964, Biba soon expanded into bricks and mortar, and pioneered a new style.  Biba mixed the contemporary with Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the golden age of Hollywood, and was part of a revoloution that started to shape the high street as we know today.  

When we were putting issue two together, we came across the lovely Jude and Wendy who worked in the iconic Biba store in the 70s.  We ended up talking to Wendy about Twiggy, Mick Jagger and the story behind the stunning coat that is featured in the photos below, which were taken by here husband Tony. 

How did you come to start working at Biba?

I answered an ad in the paper, I hadn’t worked in retail before. I had arrived in London from Australia a few months before with my husband and after months of just having fun and living off our savings, I needed a job. It was suggested by my brother-in-law who worked in fashion in Australia, I ended up working there for just over a year.

What is your fondest memory of working at Biba?

The inspirational Barbara Hulanicki walking through the store daily, she would always say hello.

Did you know at the time you were part of something special and iconic?

Yes, I knew about Biba from 19 and Honey magazines, which were available in Australia, however they were always 6 weeks behind as were shipped by sea back then. When I worked there customers from all over the world came in to the shop, also many famous celebrities, always causing much excitement with the staff.  Some days you’d be serving Twiggy or Cher would be buying tights, sometimes the guys from Queen would pop in to see Mary on reception, Mick & Bianca Jagger would try & slip by unnoticed into the lifts up to the Rooftop Terrace restaurant for lunch.

What was the Biba ethos for you and what was it like to work there?

The Biba ethos was to make affordable glamorous fashion for the young working girls of Britain. Can you imagine this didn’t exist before? There were other fabulous designers but their clothing was unaffordable for most. Barbara changed all that.

Working there was fun, it was always exciting to see the new season’s designs and colours which were so amazingly coordinated throughout the whole store. I made many friends and one of my closest friends today is Jude Gosselin - we’re both are still so inspired by Barbara & Fitz’s creations.

The clothes, of course, were the main focus of Biba, what were the items and outfits that stand out in your mind?

Biba stood for glamorous clothing, which was inexpensive, well cut and designed with fabulous fabrics.  There was always amazing accessories and underwear dyed to match each seasons range of colours. 1950’s style swing back coats in leopard print, fitted jackets, tight long sleeved t-shirts, 30’s, 40’s & 50’s style dresses and pants were all given the Biba touch. 

Do you still have any Biba items?

I have a couple of dresses & a few little items. A few years ago when the Biba revival was in full swing I decided to sell most pieces. Firstly I photographed all the clothing, a friend’s daughter modelled as they no longer fitted me. Then I contacted the National Gallery of Victoria here in Melbourne and the Curators of Fashion decided to buy my coat (the one in the photograph above) for their collection.  You can’t quite see from the photo but it is a 1950’s full length swing-back coat, with one large square button a the neck, flared sleeves with turned up cuffs, the fabric was a thick cotton sort of fur which was dyed in muted multi colours.  It was just incredible, I always felt so glamourous in it.  All the other items I sold on Ebay, mostly to young women in England and I had lovely rapport with them all.

 For anyone who wants to delve further into the magical world of Barbara Hulanicki, we would recommend The Biba Experience book, by Alwyn W Turner which is filled with images of the iconic store and even features one of Wendy and Tony's beautiful images.   

We hope you like Wendy's tales as much as we did, oh to have a time machine and step back in time - what era would you love to re-visit?

Betty

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*1st image from google, and all the other images are property of Wendy and Tony Faehse