Betsy Exhibitions

Hulanicki was born in Poland and raised in Palestine, where her father was the Polish Consul General during the British Mandate. She moved to England at the age of 12, after her father was assassinated by the Stern Gang, a breakaway movement of the Irgun. Hulanicki’s career is a success story with rock and roll roots. In the 1960’s, Hulanicki went into business with her partner Stephen Fitz Simon, founding one of the most influential fashion emporiums of the 20th century, BIBA (Anna Wintour was a BIBA intern). Their affordable, stylish pieces struck a chord with the public, and stars like Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Marianne Faithful became regulars. At its peak, up to a million customers visited BIBA weekly and it was the city’s second biggest attraction after the Tower of London. 

London 1986, Après BIBA focuses on Barbara’s photographic accomplishments and presents never-before-published photographs of the ballet “A Different Set of Muscles.” The ballet was choreographed by dancer Matthew Hawkins with costumes by Mark Erskine-Pullin (aka Mr. Pearl), designer of the Wonder Woman Corset and of Kardashian fame. The exhibit also includes members of Barbara’s set: Molly Parkin (fashion editor, painter, poet, hedonist) playing Cupid, Twiggy styled as a Fairy Queen, and Anna Piaggi (editor of Vogue Italia) in her own clothes. Also included are a series of images she created for an article in the London Standard newspaper in 1986. 

Hulanicki first came to Miami Beach to design a nightclub for Rolling Stones musician Ron Wood in 1989. She never left. Barbara was the most influential hotel designer of the revitalization of South Beach, winning an award from the Miami Design Preservation League for her design of the Marlin Hotel. She also designed the interiors of the Leslie, Cardozo, Carlyle, Kent, Netherland, and Cavalier. In 2012, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire. A 2009 Documentary, “Beyond BIBA: A portrait of Barbara Hulanicki,” is on Amazon Prime, and “BIBA,” a six-part drama series by Buffalo Pictures, will be released on BBC in the fall of 2021