Biba Artist & Interior Designer Antony Little

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 had painted the window of Michael Rainey's Hung On You boutique in Cale Street using the beautifully fluid, organic Art Nouveau style which was currently experiencing a major revival at this point in time. The continuation of this influence in his work 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 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.

Shop  manager Eleanor Powell, wearing a suit from Biba, the photograph was taken across the road from the Kensington Church Street premises.

                               Antony Little and his wife Jenny at their London home circa 1970. 

                        

 

Aubrey Beardsley inspired Illustration by Antony Little which was sold in Biba, Kensington Church St.

                              Hung On You, 22 Cale street. Window design by Antony Little 1966.

The interior of Hung On You, 22 Cale Street. A blow-up of a poster design for the shop by Antony Little decorates the wall in the background, the backdrop was also used on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1966 for a feature about the  rise of  the 'Swinging Revolution' in London.

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.

                                 * Illustration by Antony Little, which sold in Biba  circa 1967.

Part of the conservatory area in Biba, Kensington High Street, designed by Antony Little, using stained glass windows which had been reclaimed from St Paul's school. (1969).

                             Size, colour and price labels  designed by Antony Little for Biba.

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. 

                          Packaging from stockings, with logo designed by Antony Little for Biba.

Yet another example of the Antony Little Nouveau window design used as a feature by a photographer, on this occasion by Frank Habicht.



                                                           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 Website can be found here
                          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.