Biba in the mid-1990s with Monica Zipper as head designer. Barbara Hulanicki has not been involved with any of these relaunches, and due to the use of Biba's logo and similar labels, these garments are easy to pass off as original vintage pieces. The Biba label was relaunched again in May 2006 under designer Bella Freud. Again, Biba's founder, Barbara Hulanicki, was not contacted for the relaunch and said it was 'very, very painful', believing that the new Biba would 'betray its heritage.' Freud's first collection Spring/Summer 2007 was unveiled at London Fashion Week in September 2006, and was criticised for
Biba had been worn by Brigitte Bardot. By the morning after the dress was advertised in the "Daily Mirror", over 4,000 orders had been received. Ultimately, some 17,000 outfits were sold. Hulanicki worked as a fashion illustrator after studying at Brighton Art College in the late 1950s. She married advertising executive Stephen Fitz-Simon and they soon opened a mail order clothing company that she named Biba's Postal Boutique. Biba was the nickname of her younger sister Biruta. The first store, in Abingdon Road in Kensington, was opened in September 1964. Hulanicki’s first encounter with her new customers was at 10 o’clock