Biba

Department Store in/near High Street Kensington, existed between 1973 and 1975

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Department Store · * · W8 ·
APRIL
27
2014
Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s, started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon.

Barbara Hulanicki worked as a fashion illustrator after studying at Brighton Art College in the late 1950s. She married advertising executive Stephen Fitz-Simon and they soon opened a mail order clothing company that she named Biba’s Postal Boutique. Biba was the nickname of her younger sister Biruta.

The first store, in Abingdon Road in Kensington, was opened in September 1964.

The shops’ main appeal was what was seen on TV on Friday night could now be bought on Saturday and worn that night. As the Biba style (tight cut skinny sleeves, earthy colours) and logo became more and more recognisable, the more and more people wanted to be seen in it.

The second store at 19-21 Kensington Church Street opened in 1965 and a series of mail-order catalogues followed in 1968, which allowed customers to buy Biba style without having to come to London.

The next move, in 1969, was to Kensington High Street, into a store which previously sold carpet. On 1 May 1971 a bomb was set off inside the store by The Angry Brigade.

In 1973 with the backing of Dorothy Perkins and British Land, the store moved to the seven-storey Derry & Toms department store, which immediately attracted up to a million customers weekly, making it one of the most visited tourist attractions in London.

There were different departments, and each floor had its own theme, such as a children’s floor, a floor for men, a book store, a food market, and a "home" floor which sold items such as wallpaper, paint, cutlery, soft furnishings and even statues. The overall design was produced by Whitmore-Thomas Partnership, run by artist/designers Steve Thomas (artist) and Tim Whitmore. Each department had its own logo or sign, which was based on the Biba logo and had a picture describing the department. These were commissioned by Thomas and Whitmore and designed by Kasia Charko.

The store had an Art Deco-interior and non-traditional displays, such as a giant Snoopy and his doghouse in the children’s department, where merchandise based on the Peanuts comic strip was sold. The Biba Food Hall was also designed ingeniously, each part being aimed at one particular kind of product; a unit made to look like a dog (based on Hulanicki’s own dog, a Great Dane named Othello) consisted of dog food; a huge baked beans tin can consisted of only tins of Baked beans; a can of "Warhol’s Condensed Soup" etc., all foods having individual innovative units. Also at the new "Big Biba" was "The Rainbow Restaurant", which was located on the fifth floor of the department store and was destined to become a major hang-out for rock stars, but which was not solely the reserve of the elite.

After disagreements with the Board over creative control, Hulanicki left the company and, shortly afterwards in 1975, Biba was closed by the British Land Company. The Dorothy Perkins shareholder decided that the Derry and Toms building that housed Big Biba was worth more than the ailing business itself. It sold the trademark to a consortium with no connection to Barbara Hulanicki.
Read the Biba entry on the Wikipedia...


Main source: Wikipedia
Further citations and sources



NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Ashbourne College Ashbourne College is an independent school and sixth form located in Kensington.
Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s, started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon.
Derry and Toms Derry & Toms was a London department store.
High Street Kensington High Street Kensington is a London Underground station on Kensington High Street.
Kensington Market Kensington Market was a three storey indoor market at 49 Kensington High Street, created in late 1967
Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century.
Kensington Roof Garden Kensington Roof Garden (formerly known as Derry and Toms Roof Gardens) covers 6000 square metres.
Kensington School The Kensington Proprietary Grammar School was an educational establishment founded in 1830 that is perhaps best remembered for being one of the founders of the Football Association in 1863.
Linley Sambourne House 18 Stafford Terrace, formerly known as Linley Sambourne House, was the home of the Punch illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne and open as a museum.
Royal Garden Hotel Royal Garden Hotel is a 5 star hotel in London, England.
St Mary Abbot’s St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8.

NEARBY STREETS
Abbots Court, W8 Abbots Court is a block in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Abbots Walk, W8 Abbots Walk is one of a number of thoroughfares built over the site of St Mary Abbots Hospital (Kensington)
Abingdon Court, W8 Abingdon Court is a block of flats on Abingdon Villas (Kensington)
Abingdon Gardens, W8 Abingdon Gardens is a block on Abingdon Villas (Kensington)
Abingdon Mansions, W8 The Abbots of Abingdon were once Lords of the Manor of Abbot’s Kensington (Kensington)
Abingdon Road, W8 Abingdon Road stretches between Stratford Road and Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Abingdon Villas, W8 Abingdon Villas runs between Earls Court Road and Marloes Road (Kensington)
Adam And Eve Mews, W8 Adam And Eve Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Albert Mews, SW7 Albert Mews is a small cobbled mews, built in 1865 (Gloucester Road)
Albert Place, W8 Albert Place runs west off Victoria Road. (Kensington)
Allen Street, W8 Allen Street extends south from Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Ansdell Street, W8 Ansdell Street (and Andsell Terrace) commemorate Richard Ansdell RA, whose animal paintings were highly popular with the Victorian public (Kensington)
Ansdell Terrace, W8 Ansdell Terrace is a cul-de-sac off of Ansdell Street and was previously known as St Albans Road North. (Kensington)
Argyll Road, W8 Argyll Road was built as part of the development of the Phillimore Estate (Kensington)
Arundel House, W8 Arundel House is a block on Palace Green (Kensington)
Atlantic House, W8 Atlantic House is a block on St Alban’s Grove (Kensington)
Ball Street, W8 Ball Street was created by the Kensington Improvement Scheme of 1868-71, carried out by the Metropolitan Board of Works. (High Street Kensington)
Cambridge Place, W8 Cambridge Place is a short cul-de-sac on the west side of Victoria Road (Kensington)
Campden Grove, W8 Campden Grove runs between Kensington Church Street and Hornton Street. (Kensington)
Campden Hill Close, W8 Campden Hill Close is a small cul-de-sac entered by a narrow driveway off Hornton Street (Kensington)
Campden Hill Court, W8 Campden Hill Court is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Campden Hill Road, W8 Campden Hill Road runs between Notting Hill Gate and Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Campden Hill, W8 Campden Hill is a hill and street in Kensington (Kensington)
Cedar House, W8 Cedar House is sited on Marloes Road (Kensington)
Cheniston Gardens, W8 Cheniston Gardens is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Como House, W8 Como House is a block on Wrights Lane (Kensington)
Cope Place, W8 Cope Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Cottesmore Court, W8 Cottesmore Court is a block on South End Row (Kensington)
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Derry Street, W8 Derry Street formerly known as King Street and laid out in the mid-1730s (High Street Kensington)
Douro Place, W8 Douro Place is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Drayson Mews, W8 Drayson Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Duchess of Bedford’s Walk, W8 Lady Georgiana Russell, wife of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford lived at Argyll Lodge, a former house on Campden Hill, near the location of the road (Kensington)
Eden Close, W8 Eden Close is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Eldon Road, SW7 Eldon Road runs between Stanford Road and Victoria Road (Kensington)
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Gregory Place, W8 Gregory Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Holland Street, W8 Holland Street is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Iverna Gardens, W8 Iverna Gardens is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Kensington Apartment, W8 Kensington Apartment is a road in the W8 postcode area (High Street Kensington)
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Kensington Court Gardens, W8 Kensington Court Gardens is a late Victorian mansion block, completed in 1889, near to Kensington Palace and Gardens (Kensington)
Kensington Court Place, W8 Kensington Court Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington Court, W8 Kensington Court is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington Gate, W8 Kensington Gate is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington High Street, W8 Kensington High Street is one of western London’s most popular shopping streets, with upmarket shops serving a wealthy area. (High Street Kensington)
Kensington Palace Gardens, W8 Kensington Palace Gardens is a street in west central London with some of the most expensive properties in the world. (Kensington)
Kensington Road, W8 Kensington Road is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Lancer Square, W8 Lancer Square is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Launceston Place, SW7 Launceston Place was the last street to be developed on the Inderwick estate. (Kensington)
Launceston Place, W8 Launceston Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Leonard Court, W8 Leonard Court is a block on Leonard Court (Kensington)
Macmillan House, W8 Residential block (High Street Kensington)
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Old Court Place, W8 Old Court Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Palace Avenue, W8 Palace Avenue is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Palace Green, W8 Palace Green is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Palace Place Mansions, W8 Palace Place Mansions is a street in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Pembroke Mews, W8 Pembroke Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Pembroke Place, W8 Pembroke Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Phillimore Gardens, W8 Phillimore Gardens, in 2022, was the most expensive street in England, with an average house price of £23.8m (Kensington)
Phillimore Place, W8 Phillimore Place was part of the old Phillimore Estate and, at first, named Durham Villas (Kensington)
Phillimore Walk, W8 Phillimore Walk is a street in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Pitt Street, W8 Pitt Street is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Prince Of Wales Terrace, W8 Prince Of Wales Terrace is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Scarsdale Place, W8 Scarsdale Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Scarsdale Villas, W8 Scarsdale Villas was built between 1850 and 1864 (Kensington)
Sheldrake Place, W8 Sheldrake Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
South Edwardes Square, W8 South Edwardes Square derives its name from William Edwardes, 2nd Lord Kensington - the square was built on part of his Holland House Estate. (Kensington)
South End Row, W8 South End Row is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
South End, W8 South End is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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St James House, W8 Residential block (Kensington)
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Stafford Court, W8 Stafford Court can be found on Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Stafford Terrace, W8 Stafford Terrace was built between 1868 and 1874 by builder Joseph Gordon Davis (Kensington)
Stanford Road, W8 Stanford Road is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
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The Broad Walk, W8 The Broad Walk is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
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Vicarage Gate, W8 Vicarage Gate is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Victoria Grove, W8 Victoria Grove is a street in Kensington (Gloucester Road)
Victoria Road, W8 Victoria Road stretches north to Kensington Road (Kensington)
Warwick Chambers, W8 Warwick Chambers is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Wright’s Lane, W8 Wright’s Lane is a old lane of Kensington (Kensington)
Wynnstay Gardens, W8 Wynnstay Gardens is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
York House Place, W8 York House Place existed between 1839 and 1904 (Kensington)
York Passage, W8 York Passage is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Young Street, W8 Young Street, named after the developer of Kensington Square, was in use as a road by 1685 (High Street Kensington)
Zetland House, W8 Zetland House can be found on Marloes Road (Kensington)


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