Earlier this month, House of Fraser Manchester unveiled their exciting launch and new ownership of legendary swinging sixties brand Biba. The highly anticipated collection showcases high street couture in its finest form with a contemporary yet nostalgic twist on 21st century glamour.

Founded by Barbara Hulanicki in 1964, the brand’s success was ultimately down to its fashion forward approach to affordable style. With a garment cunningly advertised in the Daily Mirror, young fashionista’s everywhere flocked to Abingdon Road Kensington to buy a piece of the cult fashion brand. Sales soared, multiple shops began to open and a mail order catalogue was launched a few years later, which as a fantastic opportunity, made Biba accessible to customers outside of the capital.

Sold by Hulanicki herself somewhat over 30 years ago, the Biba brand has been reignited by new ownership and design team of fashion retail department store House of Fraser. Stocked online and in-store throughout the UK, Biba looks set to re-establish its nostalgic style savvy appeal that it once had back on the high street in the sixties.

In keeping with its heritage, the black and gold original Biba brand logo has remained unchanged, recognizable and true to its art deco roots. This iconic color combination has intrinsically become the key inspiration behind the new debut collection as well as the store’s shop fit.

With the two trends Luxe and Soft metals, the collection is definitively split between warm earthy tones of gold, mocha and leopard print mixed in with more moody sultry hues of purple, grey, lilac and black. Within Biba’s collection it is clear to see that embellishment and decadence play a large part, with sumptuous fabrics such as sheer silk, soft marabou feathers, velvet, smooth faux fur, sequins and art deco style beadwork. The iconic 1970’s Biba maxi-dress features several times throughout the collection in silk, and comes in a variety of beautiful colors and stunningly romantic prints.

To celebrate the launch of Biba, House of Fraser Manchester held an autumn/winter catwalk fashion show opposite the new concession last week. Organized by the talented personal shopping team, a series of looks were put together with selected pieces from both the new debut collection as well as other brands stocked in-store.

The fashion show received a warm reception, with cupcakes and champagne served to the spectators, audience members also each received a goodie bag with some Biba freebies along with this seasons catalogue for the new collection and House of Fraser.


Biba’s prices range between £55 to £450.

Avaliable to buy in store and online at www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Words by Kate Alexandra Mcleish

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