Barbara Hulanicki

Barbara Hulanicki was born in Jerusalem in 1948 to Polish parents. Barbara and her mother later moved to Brighton, England because her father had been murdered in Jerusalem. It was in England where she attended the Brighton School of Art and it was not long after graduating where her career soon became to fall into place. Barbara, “entered and won a competition in London for beachwear in 1955, which began her career in fashion as a freelance fashion illustrator, working for various magazines like Vogue, Tatler and Women’s Wear Daily”. () These magazines would be considered mentors to Hulanicki as they were her stepping stone into the world of fashion. “Barbara was influenced by Art Nouveau and Art Deco,” () Art Deco is used mostly in household object and in architecture. Hulanicki loved to make household objects, like couch cushions and even sold them in her boutique “Biba". Art Nouveau is characterized by, “linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms”. Barbara’s designs were elegant, simple and fit the natural form at the time which was a slim fit for women. In 1963 Barbara and her husband, Stephen founded Biba. Barbara Hulanicki helped connect youth culture to fashion. Fashionable clothing was not targeted to the youtnger generation and it was to expensive for any teenager to purchase. Barbara made it clear that a person does not need to be wealthy to look fashionable. The evolution of Biba started extremely fast and ended the same. In 1964, “Biba began as a small mail-order business featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the Daily Mirror” (). The mail order business was up and coming in the United States and Barbara and her husband wanted to take advantage. Barbara’s husband Stephen, “had the commercial skills that she lacked” (), and with a team that has great designs and retail knowledge success was almost guaranteed. As Biba started to develop Barbara and Stephen were able to open the first store in 1964. Hulanicki then designed the Pink Gingham dress which was a great success. Barbara said, “we got this amazing hit. It was like winning the lottery. I’m still waiting for it to happen again” (). 17,000 dresses were sold and with the money they open their first boutique store in Kensington, London. Barbara focused on the female youth while designing the Pink Gingham. She wanted to create good quality, high fashion clothing for an affordable price. Teen girls had never worn a dress like it before which caused a high demand for the piece. Biba grew even larger and, “Barbara began to designing accessories, clothing for all genders and ages and would also design objects for households” (). Biba was also know to be a hangout location for celebrities. Barbara said, “the people who surprised me most were the wealthy customers, because Biba clothes weren't intended for wealthy women. I remember seeing Baroness von Thyssen, who was an influential fashion figure then. She was shopping because she loved the Biba shape, which was skinny and unlike couture shapes, which were bulky and padded” (). Barbara had great ideas and designs. The fact that famous high fashion celebrities were shopping at a store that wasn't originally intended for the wealthy was not only great for business growth and marketing but, it meant that Biba clothing was the real deal. Biba moved locations two more times, one in 1966 and one more in 1969 to High Kensington. However, in 1975 because of financial issues and poor planning Biba was forced to close. Barbara still continues to design today for companies like Disney, George and Target, which are both companies that target youth when advertising their products. Barbara Hulanicki made many key contributions to the fashion industry. She focused on the youth of the generation because when it came to fashion they did not have choice. Hulanicki wanted fashion to be for the people and not just the wealthy. When talking about why she wanted to focus on the youth Barbara stated, “I was a bit older than them, a bit wiser and more experienced," she says. "I had been to all of the shows in Paris by then. I knew about their needs—you have no idea how little [choice] there was. There was nothing” (). Hulanicki changed the concept of what young fashion could be. Her designs were elegant and displayed something that people had not seen before. From a business perspective Barbara selected the perfect target market to sell her designs to. “It was a privilege for young people whose only other experience was haute couture”(). Before Biba, Barbara also said, “clothes were dreary and came in terrible colours such as royal blue, red and beige. Girls dressed like their mothers or made things from patterns” (). Barbara with the help of her husband were able to get the youth involved with fashion and make a profit from it. Fashion gives teenagers a way to express their individuality. Most people want to be different from one another and fashion gave them a way how. Barbara had strategy for getting customers to keep coming back to Biba. She said, “the designs changed all the time. It was the best way to ensure that people came back, and everyone was so crazy for the new, new, new. We’d stock the rail and by 11am they’d by empty” (). Barbara and Stephen’s business plan was extremely effective. New items are always attractive especially if the previous ones have gotten good reviews. New merchandise can cause suspense, excitement and curiosity which are all good for sales and customer loyalty because they will always want to know what is coming next. It was crucial for a new generation of retailers to cater to the youth and individually minded buyers. There was a large demand for cheap fashionable clothes. Before, Biba the clothing lines that were launched were usually only directed at women who were over 30. This left a gigantic market for teen fashion and Barbara took complete advantage of that. 21st century design is about consumerism and making profits. Biba was the first boutique to have the idea to sell a lifestyle rather than just clothing. “Biba sold shoes, bags, hats, make-up and lots of other thing that mixed and matched” (). Barbara said, “before we knew it, we were selling a lifestyle; long before anyone had thought up that concept” (). This concept of selling a lifestyle has become the goal of a lot of stores in the 21st century. If a company provides everything a person needs to start a new life in their store, customers are most likely going to buy everything for your store rather than shop around. The 21st century generation is lazy and convince will result in sales. Stores such as Urban Outfitters and Anthropology are similar to Biba when it comes to their business plan and the types of products that were sold. They all were and are in the business of selling a lifestyle. Clothes, accessories, shoes and items for the home are sold in all of these stores. Consumers love their individuality and the everyday person wants to have a repertoire of clothing. People who wanted exclusive fashion in the 60’s went to Biba because they were able to buy fashionable clothing for a reasonable price. Having exclusive fashion in the 21st century is important to people because it gives them a sense of individuality and freedom from the norms of society. Urban Outfitters and Anthropology provide fashion that people can mix and match to create their own individual styles. Some specific designs that Barbara Hulanicki made that have been modernized in today’s society include the same types of patterns and colours.
Women dress in Biba fashion during the 1960’s.

Urban Outfitters Model dress in Boho Chic, 2014. The women in these photos are wearing high fashion clothing that is good quality and affordable. Barbara influence the youth in the 1960’s to be excited and get involved in fashion. She was able to capitalize on her target market of youths and was able to design items they would need up until the time where they were married with children and own a home. Selling an affordable and fashionable lifestyle is very appealing to consumers. Even tho Barbara was not able to keep Biba up and running she had a major influence on business models and fashion designs in the 21st century. Economically, Barbara was was designing and selling high quality clothing for an affordable price that would not commonly be sold to a younger generation. She was able to catch the attention of many famous icons in the fashion industry that loved her clothes and helped influence the companies business growth and marketing. “Biba made full use of celebrity endorsements, most famously that of model Twiggy” (). Barbara was able to move to a larger location because of her great designs that people loved and wanted to support. Biba, also became a social hangout spot for movie starts and musicians. Barbara also understood men. She know that they did not like to stand around while their wives or girlfriends shopped which, was one of the reasons why she started designing furniture.Barbara also recognized the buying power of men. “I wanted the shop to be like home. Having a husband who hated shopping, I thought, 'I've got to get guys in here as well'. So I gave them the sofa” (). This was a great idea because it was another way to make a profit. While the girls are looking at the clothing, the guys are looking at the furniture even tho they might not know it. The couple might end up buying both the clothing and the furniture. From a political stand point the company was big for women at the time. "Biba is a fantastic example of a women's business—it was almost exclusively run by women and there were women at every senior level. I can't think of a parallel.” This was a big thing in the 60’s when women could have a dominate position in a business world. In conclusion Barbara Hulanicki was a designer who changed the fashion industry making trendy and affordable clothing for the youth of the sixties. Barbara made it clear that one didn’t have to be wealthy to be fashionable.