Websites: www.barbarabui.fr and www.barbarabui.com

Barbara Bui was born in Paris in the early 1960's. Her mother was French and her father was Vietnamese.

She has a Master's degree in English literature and her background is in the theatre. She married actor William Halimi and in the mid 1980's opened a boutique which they called "Kubuki". This was quite successful. They sold clothes designed by Bui as well as other designers and it became a well-stocked fashion resource.

By 1988, Barbara was designing mens and womens collections. She is known for her clean lines and an off-beat femininity that combines cultural and ethnic influences.

Bui's empire now consists of the BB line which came out in 1998, and her Barbara Bui line which is more relaxed. In 2000, she unveiled the Barbara Bui shoe line, with a range of footwear designs.

She presents 4 collections each season, her Main Line, the BB line, her Menswear line and her Shoe line. She has her own stores in Paris, New York and Milan and also owns a café in Paris which opened in 1999. Her New York boutique in Soho opened in 1998.

In 2001, Barbara launched her first US advertisement campaign. David Bailey, the famous fashion photographer, took the pictures required. Here are some of the designs which featured in the campaign. The sales in the US have started to take off. As you can see by the picture on the right, she is happy about this.

Bui and her husband (who is President of her Company) are hoping that her rock-and-roll attitude clothes will become as popular in the United States as they are in Europe.

Haute Couture

In May 2003, the Federation Francaise de la Couture, the Haute Couture governing body in Paris, announced Barbara Bui had been included in their membership.

Fall/Winter 2004 ready-to-wear

Barbara Bui presented her Fall collection at the Hotel Intercontinental in Paris during Fashion Week of March 2004. It was a sensational show with furs, leathers and high heels. Her trench coats with black satin slim pants were beautiful. She also showed a "Klimt" print dress with black satin jersey details.

Autumn/Winter 2005

Barbara Bui's Autumn/Winter collection was shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2005. It was delightfully feminine. She was inspired by Mongolia and showed luxury garments made from fur, silk taffeta, chiffon and velvet. Basic black and snowy white use of Mongolian ethnic icons and graphis on winter coats and vests trimmed with fur, added a haute couture feel to the collection. Tube top cocktaildresses with chiffon skirts, a velvet mini dress embellished with green Swarovski crystals, tapered pants with tuxedo inspired jackets would all be a lovely adddition to your wardrobe. And the accessories were as good as the clothes. Ankle boots with rivets, high heel boots trimmed with fur and ostrich and fur shawls. Definitely one of the best collections this season.

Spring/Summer 2006
Paris Fashion Week

Barbara Bui presented her Spring/Summer 2006 collection during Paris Fashion Week in October 2005. A short green satin skirt with a black top, from the collection is shown on the left. It is worn with a light brown tweed coat over it.

Barbara said she was inspired by a song by Serge Gainsbourg about a Rolls Royce. She went for a metallic summer with a touch of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost car about it. She presented a layered skirt in silvery gold, a deep V-neck loose fitting blous, and a silvery gold trench coat embellished with rivets and gems. She included cuffed shorts (so popular this season) and tuxedo jackets, strapless sundresses accented with belts, and a one-shoulder cocktail dress with ease of movement. Some other off-the-shoulder blouses had oversized puff sleeves. Sleeveless tunics were embroidered on edges and hems.

Barbara broke new ground by showing quilted hems for dresses, trousers and shorts giving them a very well tailored look. In fact the whole collection had a very light feeling to it. It was a romantic collection with sheering and layering.

2005