The Biba Story [exhibition]

That yellow outfit at the back is pure Tara King

One of the things I really wanted to do this year was visit The Biba Story at the Fashion & Textile Museum in London. I always thought I wasn't a fan of 60s and 70s style, and back when I started this blog both decades were seen as untouchable by some sections of the vintage community. but seeing amazing fellow bloggers who absolutely rock looks from those decades, following people on Instagram who show off gorgeous magazine layouts from the era, and my own love of spy-fi and cold war fiction, all combined to make me revise my opinion. 

*Wags finger* There's style in every decade.

(Well, I'm still not convinced by the 2000s, but I've time to change my mind on that one too.)

You can bet your arse I'd have worn this when I was thin/perky enough...

I realised I definitely did love the 60s/70s take on Victorian, Edwardian, and Jazz Age styles, whether overtly or merely influenced. And Biba was part of that. While the earlier garments had the short skirts of the 1960s, by the 1970s a 1930s/40s influence on Biba's sihouettes was clear, whether in the long, slinky dresses or beach-pyjama-inspired ensmbles. There were some beautiful examples of these on show. One of my favourites was a deep green gown which Biba sold as a dressing gown as VAT on dressing gowns was lower than it was on evening dresses.

Overall, though, something disappointed me about this exhibition, and I've been racking my brain ever since to work out exactly what it was. It definitely felt like there was less on show at this one than there was on 60s Boutique Fashion in 2022 (I never blogged about that having got covid after that trip, but it was a brilliant exhibition). I've looked back over my photos from that exhibition and I'm not sure that's actually the case. It's possible that I enjoyed that one so much, it escalated my expectations of what the Biba one would be like. But one thing the Boutique Fashion one managed was to convey a sense of the flamboyance of the clothes those boutiques were selling, of the glamour of the customers and the way each boutique differed from the others. The Biba one somehow felt flat, and didn't really convey the impact and the excitement of the shops for me. 

Such glam clothes; such an oddly plain setting. Biba should feel at least a little *decadent*

One display that's stuck in my mind, possibly for the wrong reasons, was one of four garments, right near the end. If you stood looking at the garments, you'd have your back to the case attached to the wall behind you showing those very same things as depicted in four Biba catalogues, photographed by the likes of Helmut Newton and Sarah Moon. But it was so easy to miss those catalogues, yet being able to see how they were sold in photos added so much to the story of those clothes.

So it was full of beautiful things, and I'm glad I didn't miss it – regret at never going at all is the worst – but I didn't leave with my head buzzing in the way I expected to, and being at the very best creative events makes it.

The exhibition's closing the day I'm posting this (stay, timely, Mim!) but there are some other good ones coming up. The Fashion & Textile Museum is following this one with Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London, all about Leigh Bowery and Taboo nightclub, from 4 October. The V&A is going to have an exhibition devoted to Cartier, starting 14 April 2025, and I really want to see that one. I love sparkly stuff...