Barbara Hulanicki HANDBAG
The great brand handbag designer that changed the world
Barbara Hulanicki
COMELY HANDBAG
A woman and child in identical maxi, panne velvet dresses are the essence of the Biba look.
Barbara Hulanicki, a fashion illustrator, had dreamed of bringing decadence to the masses. She began with a “postal boutique” in 1963, opening her first shop, named after her sister, Biba, a year later.
It was a treasury of exotic accessories and fabrics and despite its cheapness, which made it accessible to students and teenagers, evening ladies handbag stars including Twiggy and Julie Christie.
Biba was, in the words of Ossie Clarke, “Disposable glamour shrouded n purply, mulberry shades.” Hulanicki’s style lived somewhere between Art Deco and Art Nouveau: slim, often cut from satin and velvet and highlighted with lean lurex knitwear. In 1973
Barbara start the mass range of handbag and evening handbag in 1975,
Also export to Asia since 1976s.
Biba moved into a department store building. This “nickelodeon land of Art Deco with potted palms and mirrored hall” only lasted until 1975, but Hulanicki’s ideal it still admired.