Antony Little, artist and interior designer, first became associated with Biba in 1965 through his connection with Julie Hodgess, whom Barbara Hulanicki had commissioned to create a wallpaper design for her shop in Abingdon Road. Upon moving to her second Biba premises in march of 1966, she once again hired the two designers to decorate the new shop. Prior to this, Little, who's work at this point in time was heavily influenced by the renewed interest in Art Nouveau, had painted the window of Michael Rainey's Hung On You boutique in Cale Street using the beautifully fluid, organic Nouveaustyle. The continuation of this influence can also be seen in the window design that he created for the Kensington Church Street shop, he painted the Biba name above the shop in gold lettering on a black background, then decorated each window with gold leaf circles (which served as portholes), surrounding them with an expanse of black Art Nouveau swirls. The design proved itself to be incredibly popular, attracting not only the curiosity of every passer-by but also the attention of many photographers who liked to use the windows as an interesting background feature in their photo shoots. An adaptation of the design also became the new Biba logo, which featured on bags and other printed materials. Although he continued to work with Biba in an interior design capacity on further projects, by 1968, Little had opened a small showroom in Chelsea and co-founded a wallpaper and fabric company with his brother in-law Peter Osborne, producing some of the most striking hand-printed designs of the decade. For those of you with a penchant for interior design from this period who would like to decorate accordingly, it will undoubtedly be welcome news that Osborne & Little are still active and that quite a lot of their early work is currently available again.
Antony Little and his wife Jenny at their London home circa 1970.
Aubrey Beardsley inspiredIllustration by Antony Little which was sold in Biba, Kensington Church St.
Close up of the exterior of Biba, Empire House, 19-21 Kensington Church Street, W.8. Nouveau window design detail by Antony Little.
Shop manager Kim Wilmot photographed in the window seat of Biba in Kensington Church Street, one of the many photographs which used Antony Little's Nouveau window design as a backdrop.
Osborne & Little's 'Chinese Dragon' wallpaper, designed in 1968 by Antony Little, inspired by the Royal Pavillion in Brighton, you can view a fantastic example of the paper as it was intended to be seen here. And, if you have fallen in love with it, you will be happy to know that the paper is available again in six different colourways from various stockists, along with some other incredible wallpaper designs and matching textiles from this period, as part of their Vintage Collection.
IMAGE CREDITS
All images scanned by Sweet Jane from the following publications: The Biba Experience by Alwyn W Turner, 70s Style & Design by Dominic Lutyens & Kirsty Hislop, Boutique a 60s cultural phenomenon by Marnie Fogg, Look Magazine 1967 photograph by Douglas Kirkland and In the Sixties by Frank Habicht. *except for photo No.8 which is courtesy of the Alwyn Turner website via Antony Little.
LINKS
The Osborne & Little Vintage Collection of wallpaper can be found here
The Restaurant & Champagne Bar owned by Biba's former interior designer Julie Hodgess,
which has been in business since 1969 can be found here.
which has been in business since 1969 can be found here.