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From A to Biba: The Autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki
Barbara Hulanicki’s BIBA Shop grew from one room to a five-story department store as it became an icon of hip ’60s and ’70s London and a hangout for artists, movie stars, and rock musicians, including David Bowie, Twiggy, and Marianne Faithfull. BIBA’s black-and-gold Deco-style logo is still a familiar symbol of Swinging London’s heyday as a world capital of fashion, music, and the arts, but in the early 1970s Hulanicki and her husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, lost control of their business and for Barbara, BIBA was gone. This lively autobiography evokes the adventurous spirit of the 1960s and describes an extraordinary life with clarity and wit.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 10, 2023
04/2021
From 1983
I adore the British Fashion House BIBA, which was a thing the decade before I was born. Starting in 1966, it had wonderful aesthetics, maybe the first to bring back art nouveau and deco styles. This autobiography by the founder and creator, Barbara Hulanicki is pretty charming. I had known nothing about her childhood in Jerusalem, then move to England and her eccentric aunt. Then the label, the stores. An entertaining view of Swinging London.
From 1983
I adore the British Fashion House BIBA, which was a thing the decade before I was born. Starting in 1966, it had wonderful aesthetics, maybe the first to bring back art nouveau and deco styles. This autobiography by the founder and creator, Barbara Hulanicki is pretty charming. I had known nothing about her childhood in Jerusalem, then move to England and her eccentric aunt. Then the label, the stores. An entertaining view of Swinging London.
May 13, 2022
What a life she lived! Hard to wrap my head around all her experiences. The beginning section about her childhood was kind of long, but it was full of colorful, fully expressed characters and remarkable events. I enjoyed it immensely. She moves on to highlight some of the jaw dropping moments from owning Biba, and since I just found out about Biba, it was all news to me. Once or twice I gasped. The writing about owning the store could be a little dry sometimes with all the name dropping and "we were exhausted" storylines but mostly, I enjoyed this memoir.
February 17, 2013
From A to Biba: The Autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki is the account of Barbara Hulanicki’s life up to, and a little after, the collapse of the major fashion retailer ‘Biba’ in 1977. I had, of course, heard of Biba and the faint whiff of legend behind the name but didn’t really know much about it. Since reading the book, I have ‘googled’ (aahh…the wonders of Google) images of the clothing and found them to be beautiful – both Hulanicki’s vintage stuff and the modern (and prohibitively expensive) House of Fraser collection that Hulanicki was not involved in.
The V&A museum have created a beautiful publication, with attractive cover art that looks clean and modern, sharp corners, silky smooth page-edges that cry out to be stroked and a spine that even I couldn’t bring myself to crack. (I admit it, I’m a shameless spine cracker – I can’t help myself, I’m sorry spine lovers!) The aesthetics inside were equally appealing and the images and illustrations were fantastic. I don’t care what anybody says – the physical look of a book is important and really can affect your enjoyment. The old adage of not judging a book by its cover is only true to a certain degree.
Hulanicki’s narrative jumps a little now and then, in the way that any recount of memories does but it doesn’t detract from the story much at all. Her passion is clear from the beginning and the pain of how her big adventure ended is obvious. In fact, she is excellent at creating emotion – the reader feels everything along with her, from the excitement of 1960s London and of starting a new venture, to the fear of everything falling down around her and the sting that I’m sure she still feels today.
I would be intrigued to read more of her reaction to the numerous Biba re-launches (something she touches on only briefly) and in particular, the House of Fraser collection, the most successful one to date, although it strays quite significantly from her original mission statement of beautiful dresses that are affordable to the everyday girl.
The book is an enjoyable read that taught me something of the history of the fashion industry and of London in the 60s and 70s. Even Hulanicki’s personal life was interesting and she is a relatable, intriguing character (even is she does paint herself as somewhat flawless and meek against the big, bad giants – I’m not saying she wasn’t right but everyone needs to take responsibility for their own mistakes sometimes, no matter how big or small and she doesn’t seem to do this at all). It is definitely a recommended read – and one that I’ve found rather difficult to review!
The V&A museum have created a beautiful publication, with attractive cover art that looks clean and modern, sharp corners, silky smooth page-edges that cry out to be stroked and a spine that even I couldn’t bring myself to crack. (I admit it, I’m a shameless spine cracker – I can’t help myself, I’m sorry spine lovers!) The aesthetics inside were equally appealing and the images and illustrations were fantastic. I don’t care what anybody says – the physical look of a book is important and really can affect your enjoyment. The old adage of not judging a book by its cover is only true to a certain degree.
Hulanicki’s narrative jumps a little now and then, in the way that any recount of memories does but it doesn’t detract from the story much at all. Her passion is clear from the beginning and the pain of how her big adventure ended is obvious. In fact, she is excellent at creating emotion – the reader feels everything along with her, from the excitement of 1960s London and of starting a new venture, to the fear of everything falling down around her and the sting that I’m sure she still feels today.
I would be intrigued to read more of her reaction to the numerous Biba re-launches (something she touches on only briefly) and in particular, the House of Fraser collection, the most successful one to date, although it strays quite significantly from her original mission statement of beautiful dresses that are affordable to the everyday girl.
The book is an enjoyable read that taught me something of the history of the fashion industry and of London in the 60s and 70s. Even Hulanicki’s personal life was interesting and she is a relatable, intriguing character (even is she does paint herself as somewhat flawless and meek against the big, bad giants – I’m not saying she wasn’t right but everyone needs to take responsibility for their own mistakes sometimes, no matter how big or small and she doesn’t seem to do this at all). It is definitely a recommended read – and one that I’ve found rather difficult to review!
March 27, 2008
this woman is a genius! and not just because my name is Biba. truly a revolutionary mind, she invented the 'lifestyle' marketing technique.
June 10, 2014
Honestly written, with witty quips and an honest glimpse into Biba in the 1960s
July 5, 2020
I loved this book. It is fast paced and exciting and completely transports you to another time of beautiful clothes and beautiful people.
November 3, 2023
I first discovered Biba when I watched the bohemian rhapsody movie and I thought it epitomised 70s fashion for me. Was in my local library and came across this book which I didn’t know existed. Barbara is inspiring and has given me motivation to carry on with my little fashion business I started 5 years ago. The ending is very bittersweet :(
March 2, 2021
4.5/5
This was incredibly well-written, and given that I knew nothing about Hulanicki or Biba before reading, very interesting. It did miss that special quality of the Dior and Hartnell books in the series, though.
This was incredibly well-written, and given that I knew nothing about Hulanicki or Biba before reading, very interesting. It did miss that special quality of the Dior and Hartnell books in the series, though.
September 23, 2024
It took me a while to get into the flow of Barbara’s voice, but once I did I was hooked. She has such an interesting background, and I wished I was there in the 60/70s when Biba was around. It’s sad now to see how identikit shops are, given all the innovation that Barbara put into Biba.
December 11, 2024
Flat as a pancake, I know more of her 'wicked' aunt than I do of Ms Hulanicki...and Biba? Well it seems that although it was a cultural phenomenon, it reads like a minor, irritating character in this dull book...
October 5, 2019
Loved this book and loved the story of Biba. Inspiring for any lover of fashion
January 6, 2020
Fascinating read that really gives you a great sense of the 60s and 70s London fashion scene.
December 19, 2022
It was great! wishing a heard a bit more abt her old age and the rest of her journey, but loved hearing abt the rise and fall of Biba.
January 19, 2023
Fascinating from start to finish, I just wish the book had included photos of the Biba stores. I still treasure a tiny Biba eyeshadow compact I owned many decades ago.
July 9, 2011
This was a spontaneous buy, and I'm so glad it was! I found reading about the growth of Biba, and the fashion of the 60s really interesting. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in fashion, or that particular decade.
May 27, 2012
Very interesting and informative account of the rise of a tiny retail Empire that was snuffed out too early. Barbara Hulanicki writes very well and this biography has the right balance of passion and truth. Never once does any recounting seem bogged-down or slow.
March 31, 2008
This wasn't as interesting and lively description of the 60's as I expected, but it was quite interesting anyway
February 1, 2009
Slightly monotone but easy to read. Interesting anecdotes make this a great summer find.
January 26, 2015
Fantastic insight into the life of both Barbara and Biba...I wish I'd been there,to experience the Biba years myself!
September 27, 2021
Wouldn’t get too excited about it.
August 15, 2009
I am enjoying this a lot.
March 29, 2017
Incredibly interesting life, inspiring woman, but the writing fell flat. I recommend for a quick and easy summer read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews