Mary Quant
British, 1930 - 2023
Mary Quant once observed that, “rightly or wrongly,” she had “been credited with the Lolita Look, the Schoolgirl Look, the Wet Weather Look, the Kinky Look, the Good Girl Look and lots of others.” But the attributions pleased her. “I like being given the credit for such things,” she said. She has also been credited with the quintessential 1960s style, the miniskirt—although she and Andre Courrèges actually shared in the popularization of shorter hemlines.
In her autobiography, Quant by Quant, she suggested that her success had been largely a matter of luck. “I just happened to start when that ‘something in the air’ was coming to a boil. The clothes I made happened to fit in exactly with the teenage trend, with pop records and espresso bars and jazz clubs.” She had always felt that the young needed an independent style, far from the stuffy clothing of their parents—and the “Establishment.” They deserved clothes that were youthful and fun.
Quant was educated at Goldsmiths’ College in London, where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. She briefly worked for the British milliner Erik, and then in 1955 opened her Chelsea boutique, Bazaar, initially only a retail outlet for unique clothing and accessories. Bazaar became a mecca for young British Mods and Rockers, and Quant, dissatisfied with the clothing options available on the market, began to design her own styles.
Quant’s creations captured the spirit and the vitality of London’s burgeoning youth movement. By today’s standards, a classic shift dress with pleats—or an A-line jumper with a drop waist—might seem not seem revolutionary. Yet it was their very simplicity that made such designs seem extraordinary in the late 1950s and 1960s. Quant also created “kooky” tights and coordinating knickers, and she was the first to use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in fashion. Outside of Britain, her designs were sold worldwide, at venues that included the major United States retailer J.C. Penney, from 1962 through 1971.
In her autobiography, Quant by Quant, she suggested that her success had been largely a matter of luck. “I just happened to start when that ‘something in the air’ was coming to a boil. The clothes I made happened to fit in exactly with the teenage trend, with pop records and espresso bars and jazz clubs.” She had always felt that the young needed an independent style, far from the stuffy clothing of their parents—and the “Establishment.” They deserved clothes that were youthful and fun.
Quant was educated at Goldsmiths’ College in London, where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. She briefly worked for the British milliner Erik, and then in 1955 opened her Chelsea boutique, Bazaar, initially only a retail outlet for unique clothing and accessories. Bazaar became a mecca for young British Mods and Rockers, and Quant, dissatisfied with the clothing options available on the market, began to design her own styles.
Quant’s creations captured the spirit and the vitality of London’s burgeoning youth movement. By today’s standards, a classic shift dress with pleats—or an A-line jumper with a drop waist—might seem not seem revolutionary. Yet it was their very simplicity that made such designs seem extraordinary in the late 1950s and 1960s. Quant also created “kooky” tights and coordinating knickers, and she was the first to use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in fashion. Outside of Britain, her designs were sold worldwide, at venues that included the major United States retailer J.C. Penney, from 1962 through 1971.