FROM A TO BIBA: The Autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki

Barbara Hulanicki tells the story of the rise and fall of the tiny, energetic boutique that grew into a vast emporium and epitomised Swinging London. The Biba store became an icon of hip 1960s and 1970s London and a hangout for artists, film stars and musicians, including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and Marianne Faithfull. But in the early 1970s Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon lost control after a series of bitter boardroom struggles and for Barbara, Biba was lost. This lively autobiography, originally published in 1983, evokes the adventurous spirit of the 1960s and describes with an extraordinary life with clarity and wit.


This book is part of the V&A Fashion Perspectives Series. Selected by V&A publishing in consultation with our world-leading fashion curators, the Fashion Perspectives series offers an access all areas pass to the glamorous world of fashion. Models, magazine editors and the designers themselves take readers behind the scenes at the likes of Balenciaga, Balmain, Chanel, Dior, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue in the golden age of couture.