British designer Mary Quant, who revolutionized the fashion world by popularizing the miniskirt in the 1960s, died Thursday at the age of 93, her family announced.
Mary Quant, Leading Figure of the “Swing Sixties,” Has Died”gently” at his home, in the county of Surrey (south of England), indicated his family.
Was “one of the best-known designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator”, highlighted his family.
Born on February 11, 1930 in London, she opened her first store, “Bazaar”, in 1955 in the Chelsea neighborhood, which was booming at the time. This clothing and accessories store quickly became a meeting point for young people and artists, attracting celebrities such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn.
Her style was easily recognizable, with her famous brown bangs, the work of hairdresser Vidal Sassoon.
Mary Quant was known, above all, for her designs of very short dresses and skirts, with simple lines and bright colors. She but she also became famous for the “shorts” (“hot-pants”), the plastic raincoats and the colorful makeup.
“It happened that my clothes matched exactly with adolescent fashion, with pop, bars […] and jazz clubs”, he commented in “Quant by Quant”, his first autobiography, published in 1965.
The queen of the miniskirt
Figure of “Swinging London”, the British Mary Quant revolutionized fashion with the popularization of the miniskirt, colorful makeup and patterned stockings.
If her title of creator of the miniskirt is the subject of controversy and claims, for example from the French André Courrèges, without a doubt the British woman participated in the international promotion of the meager cuts and tight to the body.
Born on February 11, 1930 in London, she shared her beginnings in the world of fashion with who would later be her husband, Alexander Plunket Greene. What first struck her was the eccentric style of attire of the young student she meets on the benches of Goldsmiths art college in London.
In 1955, the couple launched the first store, Bazaar, with a friend, in the then-booming neighborhood of Chelsea. The clothing and accessories store, together with the restaurant open in the basement, becomes the meeting point for young people and artists. And it attracts celebrities like Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Mary Quant creates skirts and short dresses, simple lines and bright colours, which she exhibits in deliberately extravagant shop windows.
“Disgusting”
“Bowler-hatted gentlemen banged their umbrellas on our window and yelled ‘immoral’ and ‘disgusting’ at the sight of our miniskirts and stockings, but customers flocked to buy”, he writes in his autobiography.
King’s Road, where the store opened, was transformed into a parade place for girls in miniskirts in a permanent party atmosphere characteristic of this “Swinging London” that had another nerve center in Carnaby Street.
Taking advantage of the success, the dressmaker opens a second London store, collaborates with the American department store chain JC Penney, and launches a line accessible to the general public, The Ginger Group.
A fan of geometric shapes, circles, color contrasts and the incorporation of materials such as PVC, Mary Quant promotes dusty, playful fashion without snobbery.
“It turns out that my clothes were exactly the right fit for teen fashion, pop, espresso bars and jazz clubs.”, he commented in “Quant by Quant”, his first autobiography.
“I was in the right place at the right time”, explained in 2019 on the occasion of an exhibition Jenny Lister, curator in charge of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum, who owns a hundred pieces -clothing, makeup, undergarments, patterns- by the dressmaker.
“He had a fearless demeanor and could make headlines by talking provocatively about sexuality and his private life, along with his clothing, considered quite scandalous at the time.”, considered Jenny Lister.
Mary Quant lived in Surrey (South West London) and hardly appeared in public lately. She had a son, Orlando, and three grandchildren. In 2000 she sold her cosmetics firm, identified by a flower-shaped logo, to some Japanese.
Source: Gestion
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