Lots: 161

 

To mark the 60th anniversary of the opening of Biba’s first boutique on 87 Abingdon Road, this September Kerry Taylor Auctions celebrates all things Biba. We feature a week-long online-only auction and exhibition of Biba clothes, accessories and ephemera, and will be hosting and collaborating on several special events throughout the week.

The auction opens for bidding at 9:00 am on Monday the 9th of September and will begin closing at 7:00 pm on Monday the 16th. Comprising over 160 lots the sale spans Biba’s history– from its inception as a mail-order boutique to the multi-sensory extravagance of the Big Biba store on Kensington High Street.

Biba is regarded as one of Britain’s most important fashion brands, not only because of the innovative L-darted busts, unusual sleeve shapes and dazzling fabrics that illuminated the British fashion scene at such a vital time of change but also due to its influence on how fashion companies conduct business that is still reflected in the high street today.

After starting a mail-order boutique in 1963 (named Biba after the designer’s sister), Barbara Hulanicki was featured in the Daily Mirror alongside one of her dresses. A simple gingham design with a matching headscarf. This outfit captured the imagination of a generation, eventually amassing a staggering 17,000 orders. Hulanicki opened the first Biba store in September 1964 on 87 Abington Road and within 16 months had moved to a larger premises at 19-21 Kensington Church Street (where Vogue editor Anna Wintour famously used to work on Saturdays). The clothes were imaginative, colourful, young, and affordable – a democratizing force in fashion that shaped the way people of all backgrounds could suddenly choose to dress. Hulanicki’s designs had broad references taken from Edwardian night shirts, to Cossack uniforms and the Renaissance, yet she kept them exuberantly contemporary – her clothes were ‘happening’. And while other copycat boutiques began to pop-up all over London, Barbara stayed ahead of the curve.

On the 10th of September 1973 Barbara opened Big Biba, a vast and ambitious project that spanned the 100,000 square foot, seven-floor building of the old Derry & Toms department store at 99-117 Kensington High Street. The space transcended the prevailing ideas of what a clothing store was, instead becoming a multi-sensory experience and destination. The original building was created in the Art Deco style but the interiors, designed by Tim Whitmore and Steve Thomas, drew from various sources such as Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, pop art and post-modernism, the lighting was low and each floor became an immersive environment that complemented its specific contents. There was a ‘Lolita’ children’s floor replete with toadstools, a maternity section featuring comically outsized furniture and for menswear they included a ‘mistress’ area where men could discreetly peruse more sensual items. And then there was the dazzling multi-coloured rainbow room – a celebrity hotspot billed as a place to ‘eat, drink, meet friends, dance and be happy in’, that attracted the likes of David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bryan Ferry. It was the first ‘lifestyle’ store in London selling everything from cane furniture and slippery satin sheets to dog food. On top of the building stood an immense roof garden, which (thanks to it becoming Grade II listed) still retains many of its original features today. Sprawling over 1.5 acres, well-heeled guests relaxed there for afternoon tea amongst the resident flamingos and against the iconic skyline of the Swinging City. Big Biba was not a shop, it was an entire universe, and being a ‘Biba Girl’ became a full-time lifestyle.

While Biba closed its doors in 1975 after changes to the management structure of Biba Ltd, the spirit and innovations of Hulanicki’s work live on. In 2010 she was acknowledged by the New York Times as being the inventor of fast fashion and it has often been noted that major brands such as Topshop and Zara owe the ambitious nature of their business models to her. The recent retrospective curated by Martin Pel at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey has seen record numbers coming through their doors and as testament to the prevailing allure of the designs, many people continue to collect Biba clothes today. Viva la Biba!

The Pari Collection

Pari first came across Biba in the 1980s at a stall on Portobello Road Market. She was held spellbound by the striking cut of a 1974 brown double-breasted jacket with exaggerated shoulders and saved up to pay for it in instalments every week. What began as fascination soon grew into an obsession and Pari has since amassed one of the largest private collections of Biba clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics and ephemera in the world; even becoming the subject of books, newspaper articles and TV-shows. We are delighted that 147 of the lots in this auction come from her world-renowned wardrobe.

 

Public Viewing times

Monday 9th September – 11am-5pm

Tuesday 10th September – 10am-5pm

Wednesday 11th September 10am-5pm

Thursday 12th September - Closed for School of Historical dress event

Friday 13th September 10am-5pm (some items may not be viewable on this day)

Saturday 14th September - Closed

Sunday 15th September – 12pm-5pm

Monday 16th September – 10am-5pm

 

Special Events

To coincide with the historic Biba anniversary and to celebrate Barbara Hulanicki’s brief return to London we have organised and collaborated on the following events:

An Evening With Barbara Hulanicki, Biba book preview and Biba Girl! exhibition
Tuesday 10th September, 6-9pm (anniversary of the opening of Big Biba on Kensington High Street)
A private reception at our saleroom where the Biba designer will converse with curator and author Martin Pel, discussing some of her favourite pieces from the Biba Girl! Auction. Copies of Barbara and Martin’s new book, Biba: The Fashion Brand that Defined a Generation, signed by the authors, will be available to buy on the night. Pari will also be available to discuss aspects of her collection. This event is by invitation only and is now full.

The content, cut, construction & context of Biba garments, 1968–73 
Thursday 12th September, 10am-6pm
Join Jenny Tiramani and Claire Thornton from The School of Historical Dress at the KTA saleroom to learn about the innovative techniques employed to make iconic Biba garments and acquire the knowledge to make your own. Tickets Available HERE