Brighton Museum's Biba show opens today with 32 catalogue photographs, some never shown before, and six outfits. Free with entry; residents pay £8 a year.

A new exhibition about Biba, the 1960s and 1970s fashion label, opens at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery today. The Biba Look: Photography and Fashion runs from 3 October 2026 to 21 March 2027, and it is free with ordinary museum admission (Brighton & Hove Museums).

The show marks the run-up to designer Barbara Hulanicki’s 90th birthday in December, the museum says (Brighton & Hove Museums).

What is in it

The exhibition is built around the Biba mail-order catalogues. The first was launched in April 1968, and six were made over 18 months. Hulanicki used them to work with photographers of her own choosing.

On display:

  • 32 photographs from all six catalogues, including images never shown in public before
  • work by Helmut Newton, Sarah Moon, Donald Silverstein, Hans Feurer and Harri Peccinotti, plus Hulanicki’s own photographs
  • one outfit from each of the six catalogues

The outfits include a red nightshirt with a high collar and deep cuffs in an Edwardian style, a tailored trouser suit, a spider-lace peplum suit with a long skirt, and a navy and white polka-dot cotton jacket and skirt.

The museum describes the photographs as ranging from New York-inspired film-noir shoots to portraits taken in Hulanicki’s own home.

Prices and opening times

The Biba Look is included in a standard Brighton Museum ticket, and members go free. Prices from the museum’s plan your visit page:

Ticket Price
Adult £10.50
Child, 5 to 18 £5.00
Brighton and Hove resident (BN1, BN2, BN3, BN41), with up to four children £8.00
Resident young person, 13 to 18 £4.00
Carers accompanying a disabled visitor Free

Standard tickets work as an annual pass, so they cover return visits for a year from the date you buy. Booking online takes 5% off adult, child and resident tickets.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and on bank holiday Mondays. It is in the centre of Brighton, postcode BN1 1FN.

What it means for you

If you live in Brighton and Hove, the resident ticket is the one to buy. At £8 it covers you and up to four children for a year, so it pays for itself if you go back before the exhibition closes in March.

Children under 13 must come with an adult. All areas of the museum are accessible for wheelchair users, with a lift between the two floors.

There is more on at the museum this month, including a Halloween pop-up cinema on 31 October. See our October half-term guide and what’s on in Brighton this month.

Sources