As a pioneer of the miniskirt and hot pants and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s fashion scene, Dame Mary Quant is credited with making fashion accessible to the populace with her sleek, streamlined, and vibrant designs.
The family of fashion designer Mary Quant has confirmed her passing.
She was a pioneer of the miniskirt and hot pants and was 93 years old.
According to the Victoria & Albert Museum website, there is “no conclusive evidence” regarding the origin of the miniskirt style.
However, it became Dame Mary’s signature design.
Her sleek, streamlined, and vibrant designs are credited with making fashion accessible to the public in the 1960s when she was one of the most influential fashion figures.
According to a statement released by her family, “Dame Mary Quant passed away peacefully this morning at her home in Surrey, United Kingdom.”
At 93, Dame Mary was one of the world’s most famous fashion designers and a Swinging Sixties pioneer.
Her first store, Bazaar, opened on Kings Road in 1955, and her insight and innovation rapidly influenced British design.
Bazaar was one of few London stores with loud music, free drinks, and late hours.
Alexandra Shulman, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, paid tribute to Dame Mary via Twitter, writing, “Rest in peace, Dame Mary Quant. A pioneer in both fashion and female entrepreneurship, she was much more than a beautiful haircut.”
The V&A Museum, which recently hosted an exhibition about Dame Mary’s designs, tweeted, “Quant’s contribution to fashion cannot be overstated.
“She embodied the liberated spirit of 1960s fashion and served as a new role model for young women.
Today’s fashion attributes so much to her pioneering vision.
Jenny Lister, the curator of the Dame Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A, stated that the fashion designer “blasted through barriers of snobbery and tradition” and “will forever represent the joyful freedom of 1960s fashion.”
“With her unique sense of humor, style, and determination to democratize and share the fun and creativity of her designs. She created a space for young women to be themselves,” she said.
“She helped define Britain’s global identity as a center of street style and innovation with signature looks like PVC coats, colorful tights, and the skinny-rib jumper.”
Mary, the daughter of two Welsh teachers, was born in 1930 in Blackheath, London.
She met her husband Alexander Plunket Greene at Goldsmiths College, where she got a certificate in art education.
He was her husband until his passing in 1990. 1970 marked the birth of the couple’s firstborn, Orlando.
In 2014, she was appointed a dame in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for her contributions to British fashion.
Dame Mary, who named the miniskirt after her preferred automobile brand, recalled its “freedom and liberation” in the same year.
“The girls on King’s Road invented the mini,” she stated. I was making garments that allowed you to run and dance, and we would make them to the desired length.
Customers urged me to wear them even shorter, saying, “Shorter, shorter.”
Additionally, Dame Mary revolutionized the high street with women’s trousers, accessories, hosiery, and make-up, using the daisy logo that became synonymous with her designs.
Cilla Black and the models Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, and Pattie Boyd popularised her clothing.
