The woman who revolutionised British fashion: Barbara Hulanicki interviewed

‘I was one of your original customers in Kensington Church Street,’ I tell the founder of Biba when we meet. ‘Are you coming to complain?’ she shoots back. At 87 and fresh off a flight from Miami, Barbara Hulanicki is as sharp as a tack.

The designer was in London for the opening of The Biba Story, the Fashion and Textile Museum’s celebration of the revolution she accomplished in 1960s street fashion. Believe me, it was a revolution – I was there and yes, I remember. In fact I can summon a mental inventory of all the items of clothing I bought from Biba over its short life, from the lilac fit-and-flare mini-coat that was my first proud purchase in 1967 to the brown maxi-coat with the power shoulders and the shaggy fake-fur trim that was my last in 1972. In between there was the granny print mini-dress with the Peter Pan collar, the floor-length party frock with the black velvet-laced bodice and diagonally striped taffeta circle skirt, and the knee-high maroon canvas boots with the three-inch block heels – oh, those canvas boots! – worn with hot pants.

What linked these diverse items was the cut. Having started as a fashion illustrator in the late 1950s, Hulanicki knew the importance of the silhouette. There was no signature Hulanicki style – her clothes were as likely to be inspired by Arthur Rackham as Audrey Hepburn – but all had tiny armholes for a skinny look: the first shops only stocked sizes eight to 12. She remembers petite French shoppers taking advantage of the exchange rate: ‘They used to come down in hordes from Portobello Road. They were fantastic’ – she draws a trim body shape in the air – ‘but the girls in England had fabulous long legs.