Barbara Hulanicki (b. 1936) is a fashion designer, born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, to Polish parents and best known as the founder of clothes store

Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. Biba was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Early years Biba's early years were rather humble, with many of the ou ...

Career

Hulanicki was born in

, Poland, to Polish parents. Her father, Witold Hulanicki, was assassinated by the

Stern Gang Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

in Jerusalem in 1948, and the family moved to Brighton, England. While studying from 1954 to 1956 at the

Brighton School of Art Founded as the Brighton School of Art in 1859, the University of Brighton School of Art and Media is an organisational part of the University of Brighton, with courses in the creative arts, visual communication, media, craft and fashion and textil ...

, Hulanicki won an

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' competition in 1955 for beachwear. She began her career in fashion as a freelance fashion illustrator for various magazines, including ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' and ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

''. Hulanicki sold her first designs through a small mail-order business that was featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the London ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

''. In 1964, she opened her

shop in the Kensington district of London with the help of her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon. The shop soon became known for its "stylishly decadent atmosphere" and decor inspired by Art Nouveau and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

. It became a hangout for artists, film stars and rock musicians, including

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

and Cathy McGowan, presenter of British pop/rock TV programme ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

''. In the shop, a young clientele bought affordable mini-skirts, floppy felt hats, feather boas, velvet trouser suits and unisex tee-shirts dyed in rich, muted colours.

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour (; born 3 November 1949) is a British journalist based in New York City who has served as editor-in-Chief of ''Vogue'' since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the artistic directo ...

started in fashion at age 15 as a Biba employee. After the shop's 1975 closure, Hulanicki moved to Brazil, where she opened several other stores. She kept designing for labels such as

Fiorucci Fiorucci () is an Italian fashion label founded by Elio Fiorucci in 1967. The first Fiorucci shop exposed Milan to the styles of Swinging London and to American classics such as the T-shirt and jeans. By the late 1970s, the direction of stylistic ...

and

Cacharel Jean Cacharel SA () is a French company of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories, founded in 1958 by Jean Bousquet. Cacharel designs are characterized by their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement, and use of bright colours ...

and from 1980 to 1992 designed a line of children's wear, Minirock, licensed to the Japanese market. In 1981 she opened a new shop in UK. In 1987 she moved to Miami, Florida, where she opened an interior design business, designing hotels for Chris Blackwell in Jamaica and the Bahamas. She has designed wallpaper for the

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

store chain in Europe and launched a fashion and home range in India and also wallpaper in her widely recognised Art Deco style for Graham & Brown. British retailer

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...

opened a New York City store in April 2009 and later that month launched a collection featuring Hulanicki's designs. She produced a collection for Topshop featuring billowing chiffon dresses and blouses reminiscent of her original Biba style along with several jersey pieces printed with her original illustrations, bikinis and a cropped suede jacket. In the same month, a handbag in her Art Deco style was made by the Italian label Coccinelle. About the design scene in 2009, Hulanicki has said: "There is very little difference today as opposed to the '70s; although, there is much more choice now. Both periods share the same enthusiasm, if you press the right buttons." In December 2013, she was the guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', where her top choice was "

The Girl from Ipanema "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Por ...

" by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, vocal by

Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She gained international attention in the 1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema". Biography Astrud Gilbe ...

. In September 2015, she was interviewed on the BBC TV's ''

HARDtalk ''HARDtalk'' is a BBC television and radio programme broadcast on the BBC News Channel, on BBC World News, and on the BBC World Service. Broadcast times and days vary, depending on broadcasting platform and geographic location. ''HARDtalk' ...

''. She has said: "Now whenever I finish something I take some photographs and say 'goodbye'. When you lose everything, you realise that the only thing you have is what's in your head." In 2009, the British department store group House of Fraser bought the rights to the Biba label. In 2014, Hulanicki agreed to serve as a consultant for Biba, the first time since 1975 that she had been involved with her created brand. In 2021, Hulanicki started a new venture with virtual reality company, BrandLab360, to create a new label titled 'Hula'. The new brand will be sold exclusively to trade buyers on BrandLab 360's digital showroom and was created after Hulanicki met with the platform's founders in Miami, where she is now based.

Awards

Hulanicki received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2010 Hulanicki was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

for services to the fashion industry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulanicki, Barbara 1936 births Living people Businesspeople from Warsaw English designers English fashion designers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesswomen 21st-century English businesspeople 21st-century English businesswomen British women fashion designers