London swings again! Yes, Sixties spirit is back

Sixty years ago, Biba style rocked London - and now, a new exhibition celebrating the iconic shop's cultural importance is opening in the capital, part of the next generation's obsession with the clothes, music and freedom of the decade, says Victoria Moss

- Victoria Moss

SIXTY years ago, London's retail landscape changed irrevocably with the opening of Biba, Kensington's swingiestemporium. It brought the fashion thrills and Rainbow Room spills to the hoards who would queue up outside hoping to catch sight of Julie Christie, Diana Ross, Cilla Black or even Princess Anne who all frequented the store, or just stock up on cans of beans emblazoned with Biba's Art Nouveau branding.

An exhibition at Bermondsey's Fashion and Textile Museum to mark this anniversary launched last night at a private view with founder Barbara Hulanicki, and pals Twiggy and Zandra Rhodes in attendance. The opening comes at a prescient time when the era (Biba lived for a decade of extravagance to 1975) is being reconsidered for a new generation and the Sixties spirit is swinging again in London.

Perhaps you've been tapping your Mary Janes gearing up to watch Palm Royale on AppleTV+, the colour drenched, Lilly Pulitzer-print strewn riot through Palm Beach high society set in 1969 (which has caused a 50 per cent rise in searches for Sixties fashion on eBay). Or maybe you're off to catch Cara Delevingne in Cabaret.

You've also got until July to catch Mr Fish designs at the Museum of London's Fashion City exhibition. But, maybe you're too busy planning your retreat to trip out, sorry microdose, on mushrooms.

King's Road emporium Granny Takes ATrip, another of the era's iconic shops, is making a comeback-albeit digitally.

Backed by former clients the Rolling Stones alongside other private investors, the website will offer upcycled pieces fashioned from leather, denim, old music merchandise and discarded upholstery fabric (very The Beatles in their William Morris jackets) alongside vintage pieces.