{"id":74916,"date":"2023-04-13T19:40:06","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T19:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=74916"},"modified":"2023-04-13T19:41:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T19:41:12","slug":"mary-quant-dies-at-age-93","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mary-quant-dies-at-age-93\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Quant, the Matriarch of the Miniskirt, Dies at Age 93"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Designer Mary Quant, one of the leading lights of the British fashion scene in the 1960’s, having her hair cut by another fashion icon, hairdresser Vidal Sassoon on November 10, 1964. (Photo by Ronald Dumont\/Daily Express\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Groundbreaking British designer Dame Mary Quant has died, her family confirmed in a statement, according to the BBC<\/a><\/em>. It’s been reported that Quant<\/a> died peacefully at her home in Surrey in southern England in the morning hours of April 13 at the age of 93.<\/p>\n

Known as the mother of the miniskirt, Quant left an indelible mark on fashion culture during the era of London\u2019s Swinging Sixties<\/a> after popularizing rising hemlines with miniskirts<\/a> and hot pants. In a quote acquired by the BBC<\/em><\/a>, Quant’s family described her as \u201cone of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th<\/sup> Century and an outstanding innovator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another icon of the era, model Twiggy<\/a> paid tribute revolutionary designer on social media<\/a>. “Mary Quant was such an influence on young girls in the late ’50s early ’60s,” she wrote. “She revolutionized fashion and was a brilliant female entrepreneur. The 1960s would have never been the same without her. Condolences to her family, RIP dear Dame Mary.”<\/p>\n

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Mary QUANT, fashion designer and initiator of the mini-skirt, is seen in her flat in Dracott Place, Chelsea surrounded by fashion drawings as she plans her new creations. (Photo by Keystone-France\/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Acclaimed journalist and editor Alexandra Shulman wrote<\/a>, “RIP Dame Mary Quant. A leader of fashion but also in female entrepreneurship- a visionary who was much more than a great haircut.”<\/p>\n

The fashion icon was born in south-east London in 1930, and received a degree in art at Goldsmiths College, where she met her husband, Alexander Plunket-Greene.<\/p>\n

Known for her “play clothes,” knee-high boots, Mod-era eyeliner<\/a> and geometric bob, courtesy of Vidal Sassoon, Quant and Plunket-Greene opened their own boutique in 1955 on London’s King’s Road in the center of Chelsea<\/a>, dubbed Bazaar. Quant filled the shop with bohemian designs, short skirts, pinafores, eclectic jewelry, funky tights, knee-high socks and more.<\/p>\n

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Mary Quant Afoot. (Photo by \u00a9 Hulton-Deutsch Collection\/CORBIS\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether Quant actually invented<\/em> the miniskirt<\/a> has been subject of public debate, with the late French designer Andr\u00e9 Courr\u00e8ges hiking up hemlines around the same time. But there\u2019s no doubt Quant\u2019s contributions to the fashion were favorited by the fresh generation at the time of the Youth Quake in London.<\/p>\n

In 1967, Quant told The Guardian<\/em><\/a> that “good taste is death, vulgarity is life,” to naysayers who felt miniskirt<\/a>s and short dresses were too scandalous.<\/p>\n

According to the BBC<\/em><\/a>, she said in 2014, \u201cIt was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire<\/a> in 1966 and a dame in 2015 for her services to the British fashion industry.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Quant’s designs made there way to America. She started a line at JC Penney, opened boutiques in New York department stores, created Mary Quant makeup and shoes too. By the 1970s, Quant’s brand expanded to bedsheets, paint, stationary, dolls and more.<\/p>\n

An arbiter of style, we have Mary Quant to thank for the liberation of fashion.<\/p>\n

Read the new GRAZIA Gazette: Coachella<\/em> edition:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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