The Swinging Sixties

With the Sixties came a liberated attitude, ready to rebel against the political and social conservatism which had gone before. The new young generation wanted its freedom. Newly affluent, it created a huge explosion in the market for rock and blues with bands emerging such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix Experience and Janis Joplin - many heavily influenced by the psychedelic drug culture which came with the hippie movement.

The new youth revolution was felt across film, music, art and, of course, fashion. Young designers at the time such as Mary Quant, Barbara Hulanicki and Ossie Clark were all part of this revolution and catalysed the movement through design. Their boutiques stimulated this era of experimentalism and new found optimism, creating places where the young not only bought products but hung out. It was a hedonistic time of excess and fun, and fashion played a major part. The times could be summed up Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Kantner who said: "If you can remember anything about the sixties, you weren't really there."

Ready-to-wear fashion before the brave new world of BIBA in 1964 was mainly aimed at the over thirties and therefore the prices were too high for many younger buyers. As if to make things worse, the designs were not aimed at a teenage market -- in fact nothing was! Many of the clothes available were direct copies of those found in Paris and were heavily influenced by the haute couture collections.

BIBA’s black and gold Deco-style logo is still a familiar symbol of London’s heyday as a world capital of fashion, music, and the arts, and BIBA's designs now fetch high prices in vintage clothing stores. However, it was never the exclusive preserve of the rich and famous: prices were kept deliberately low so that anyone from a rock star to a student could - and did - soak up the glamour and join the army of new-found fashion victims. This was when cutting edge couture began to be affordable, and which would transform the high street into what we experience today.