Back To Biba

Abingdon Road shop today

On 16th June, a very special event took place at Ferens Art Gallery, which had its seeds in a conversation way back last Autumn, when I took the above photo, on a pilgrimage to all of the former Biba store sites. I was talking about it to the Volunteer Co-ordinator at the museums, who vividly recalled his own in Biba's heyday. He told me how one of the museums' education enablers had worked for Biba creator Barbara Hulanicki, and I was very keen to hear her stories. So when, entirely serendipitously, 'The Times They Were A Changin'' gave me the perfect opportunity to share my own enthusiasm for Biba with the public (more of which soon), it also presented the perfect opportunity for Ronnie to share her memories of 'Working With Barbara Hulanicki'.

I met with Ronnie to look around 'The Times They Were A Changin'' while she reminisced about working with Barbara and moving to London from Scotland, aged 16, and listened in awe as she described what it was like to live in the capital in the 1970s, a time that saw such exciting cultural change. She described following some punks because she's never seen anyone who looked like that before, and of going to parties where celebrities and high society rubbed shoulders with the penniless but talented - the beginning of a meritocracy where everyone became equal if they were talented, regardless of who they were and where they came from. 

It was an unforgettable experience to clutch my 'Big Biba' book as Ronnie made the people and places in it come alive once more. Standing alongside the 'Fashion Kiosk' with my Biba makeup in, watching as people read the labels I'd written and looked at the display, I suddenly saw for myself that hope to share my Biba enthusiasm with others had come true. Ronnie's talk would bring that era and its ideals alive once more.

Several days before, I had collected a Biba jacket that Lisa at Dove House Hospice charity shop had put aside for me to borrow, to wear at the talk. I had visited the store a couple of months earlier with the museums costume curator, and we had passed an enjoyable afternoon looking at vintage clothes to select for display in the exhibition. I had tried on the jacket and it fitted perfectly! Lisa showed me the note that had been put in the bag with the jacket when it was left at the shop: "Original Biba bought 1969. I was going to put it on Ebay but haven't got around to it". We marvelled at the generosity of someone who knew it was valuable but wanted Dove House to benefit instead.

I created a poster to promote the talk and distributed the flyer also available at Ferens. Everything was prepared for the day, but we were all nervous about whether anyone would turn up! A few minutes before, I put on the Biba jacket and walked around the gallery letting people know it was happening. I had watched Ronnie's rehearsal, and it was an emotional experience for me, seeing my own memories and enthusiasms come to alive to share with the public. The gallery wasn't very busy, but then shortly before, people began to file through the doors leading to the Live Arts Space. I smiled at one of them, and she smiled back and pointed at me, saying "I got married in that jacket!". It was the lady who donated the jacket! It felt like alchemy, and then I knew it would all turn out OK...

And it did. Around 30 people sat and listened as Ronnie told the Biba story and shared her memories of working for Barbara Hulanicki. The creative vision and ideals of this visionary woman came alive once more in the Ferens that afternoon. I even (reluctantly I admit) went up and 'modelled' the jacket and displayed/talked about Barbara's recent collaborations with Topshop and George, illustrating her continued relevance and influence. What I found so fascinating was how many of the audience members remembered Biba themselves and had their own memories to share. The 'Dove House Jacket Lady' spoke of getting married in the jacket and buying from the catalogues (which she still has and has offered to loan for the September talk), and it turns out she is the best friend of the lady who loaned the Campbell's Soup dress in the exhibition! Alchemy indeed...

Lots of people had questions for Ronnie, which was a great measure of the talk's success, and afterwards I had some lovely conversations with people about Biba and 1960s fashion, and also had requests to touch the jacket I was wearing, which I was more than happy to comply with - my own 15 minutes of fame! I had several offers of dress loans which I'm hoping to work into the September event. It was so exciting for me to hear the personal stories of women who were there, for the learning process to work both ways. Speaking to Lisa from Dove House afterwards, after speaking to the lady who donated the jacket, she said how unusual it is to meet the people who donate items. I mentioned how, growing up, I didn't know anyone else interested in Biba, so it was an amazing feeling to bring a group of people together who proved there are other people out there in Hull interested in Biba too!

The talk was also a great way of promoting 'The Times They Were A Changin'' and people approached me to say how much they enjoyed it too. I will write a separate post about this exhibition soon - I've delayed doing so as I'm still pretty dazzled by how it feels to realise my dream of sharing my enthusiasms with the outside world and finding a home for them, and myself. My Museum For Myself. But that afternoon I was reminded of how inspiring it felt to have visited Abingdon Road and the tiny shop where Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon began to share their creative vision, and how, by sharing their vision with the public at Ferens, I hope I've realised my own version of that. In the spirit of Big Biba, encouraged by the public's enthusiasm, the talk on 15 September will be even more ambitious...

Special thanks to NM and Lisa and Deborah at Newland Avenue Dove House Charity shop. A Dove House vintage & retro shop opened today across the road, if you're curious about curios!