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Writer's pictureHeather Pepe

BiBA & BARBARA HULANiCKi



BiBA & BARBARA HULANiCKi🖤 60s-70s🖤

BiBA the Brand was created by #BarbaraHulanicki & her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Starting off in 1964 with one pink gingham printed dress and scarf worn by Bridgette Bardot in the Daily Mirror, in which you could order through the mail. It sold over 4000 in one day, & went up to 17,000 in total...becoming a huge hit it allowed Barbara to open up a small boutique in 1964.

BiBA was the place to go for cool clothes and modern fashions geared towards the younger hipper crowd, it became so popular that by 1973 BiBA became an iconic 5 story Art Decco department store located on Kensington High Street in London





...selling everything from clothes, to cosmetics, & home goods. Barbra was ahead of her time in marketing, advertising and cosmetics sales.

FUNFACT: The BiBA department store was one of the first stores to ever use cosmetic testers for customers to try. Truly revolutionizing the way cosmetics were sold.

There was even a Biba 'Beauty Parlor', in which Barbra hired 22 year old Makeup Artist #RegisHuet , known as the Biba 'Face Maker'... Regis quickly was in charge of the Beauty Parlor, doing makeovers, media interviews & photographic work*. He went on to become an important part of the Biba success, by helping to expand the range of colors for makeup and hair.

It was the first time in history that a makeup range covered over a hundred colors, you could have your lipstick, eyes, nails & blusher, all the same color if that was your fancy. Biba was also one of the first salons to offer bright and colorful hair dyes, another up coming trend that is more popular today then ever.*

By 1976 Regis would use his success from Biba to start his Freelance career at the birth of a new part of the industry; Fashion Editorial Makeup Artistry...


It was an extravaganza of style and decadence but at an affordable price, which was truly a first for its time. The BiBA look was a perfectly eclectic blend of #ArtDecco, #PopArt,#Victoriana & #ArtNuevu. All the “Sales Girls” would be head to toe in BiBA style. No exceptions. It became a hangout for Artists, Film Stars and Rock Musicians, including #MickJagger & #TheRollingStones, #DavidBowie, #MarianneFaithful just to name a few...Making BiBA a very important Fashion Reference.


The BiBA LOOK can be described as super glamorous & modern. I credit the the BiBA look to contributing to the decadence of the 70s Disco look... the BiBA look utilized heavy inspiration from the Starlets of the Silver Screen & #ArtDecco, tossed with some #Victoriana & the #MODs of the 60’s... it was a look for brave and bold women who weren’t afraid to play with makeup.



A favorite style of makeup was a slightly down turned smoky eye (heavy influence from the Silver Screen Stars) paired with loads of Lashes on top and sometimes bottom as well, giving it a slightly modern feel. Eyebrows were typically over tweezed & pencil thin. Lips were either Bold or Muted in color which was a very popular trend during the 60’s ... Hair styles ranged everywhere from Sleek #sassoonstyles, long and short to soft upswept curls sometimes pulling inspiration from the #GibsonGirlbun. Head scarfs and turbans were also go to accessories ... BiBA cosmetics was known for its fun colors and avant-garde looks...💄



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