An Art Nouveau style oval mirror with bronzed plaster figural support, circa 1974

Acquired from Biba, London, circa 1974.

Biba was one of London's most popular clothing and homeware shops from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, with youthful and colourful designs that are now the signature 'look' of the era. Starting off as a mail-order business, it had its first shop on Kensington Church Street and later moved to a seven-storey building on Kensington High Street in 1973. Its founder, Barbara Hulanicki, had a flair for the exuberant and drew inspiration from the Victorian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco design for her fashion designs and the famous interior of the sumptuous flagship store.

Interestingly the present mirror could well have been an ex display prop from the famous High Street Kensington Store. See a photograph by Tim Street-Porter from 1974 of the men's shoe department, (https://flashbak.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-biba-361329/) retrieved 15/07/23, where mirrors of the present form are clearly visible.