This 1970s trouser suit was bought from Biba, a fashionable boutique. Biba was established in 1963 by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. It began as a mail order company. The couple produced fashionable but affordable clothes which appealed to a wide range of people.
Success in Kensington
Such was its success that in the following year, Biba opened its first boutique in Abingdon Road. There were no changing cubicles so customers at first changed behind a screen but a communal changing room was eventually installed. Later, the store moved in 1966 to premises in Kensington Church Street and in 1969 to High Street Kensington. Biba eventually moved into the refurbished Art Deco department store Derry and Toms in 1973. It finally closed in 1975.
Worn by the famous
Biba's highly fashionable clothes were made popular by personalities of the 1960s. Cathy McGowan who presented television_s hit music programme _Ready Steady Go_ often wore clothes from Biba.