Laura Gascoigne

The woman who revolutionised British fashion: Barbara Hulanicki interviewed

1960s London wouldn’t have been what it was without Biba

Polish-born designer Barbara Hulanicki seized the fashion baton from the French in the 1960s. ©Mary Beth Koeth / Guardian / eyevine  
issue 18 May 2024

‘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.

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