- Barbara Hulanicki
Barbara Hulanicki (born 1936) is a
Warsaw -bornfashion designer , known as the founder of the iconic clothes storeBiba .Born in
Warsaw , to Polish parents, after studying at Brighton Art College, Hulanicki won aLondon Evening Standard competition for beachwear in 1955. She began her career infashion as a freelancefashion illustrator, working for various magazines, including "Vogue", "Tatler " and "Women's Wear Daily ".Hulanicki sold her first designs by a small mail-order business, featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the "
Daily Mirror ".In 1964 she opened herBiba shop inKensington , with the help of her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon. The shop soon became famous for its stylishlydecadent atmosphere and lavish decor inspiredArt Nouveau andArt Deco . It became a hangout forartist sfilm star s and rock musicians, includingMick Jagger and theRolling Stones ,David Bowie ,Marianne Faithfull andCathy McGowan , presenter of "Ready Steady Go! ", among the regulars. In the shop affordable mini-skirts, floppyfelt hat s, feather boas,velvet trouser suits and uni-sexT-shirts dyed in rich, muted colors were eagerly snapped up by a young clientele.Anna Wintour got her start in fashion as an employee. Biba finally closed its doors in 1976.After the closure of Biba, Hulanicki continued to work in the fashion industry, designing for such fashion designers as
Fiorucci andCacharel and for twelve years, from 1980 to 1992, designed a successful line of children's wear, Minirock, licensed to the Japanese market.She presently resides in
Miami, Florida where she has a successful interior design business, designing hotels for Chris Blackwell inJamaica and the Bahamas. She recently designed wallpaper for the [http://www.Habitat.net Habitat] store chain in Europe and is launching a fashion and home range inIndia .External links
* [http://www.barbarahulanickidesign.com/ Barbara Hulanicki Design]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.