Status: 04/13/2023 3:27 p.m
Her fashion represented women’s liberation, economic prosperity and fun. And she popularized the miniskirt. British fashion designer Mary Quant has died at the age of 93.
British fashion designer Mary Quant is dead. She died peacefully at home this morning at the age of 93, the British news agency PA reported, citing a statement from the family.
“Dame Mary, 93, was one of the most celebrated fashion designers of the 20th century and a preeminent pioneer of the ‘Swinging Sixties,'” the family said in a statement. Quant is survived by a son, three grandchildren and her brother Tony Quant. Her husband Alexander Plunket Greene died in 1990.
The look of a whole generation
Born on February 11, 1930 in south-east London to two Welsh teachers, Quant dreamed of becoming a designer.
Her fashion was the epitome of the swinging sixties. She became famous for her short dresses and skirts in bright colors, with which she revolutionized the way women dress. In addition, the fashion world owes her the hot pants, raincoats made of plastic, make-up like from the paint-box and waterproof mascara.
A dance student inspired her classic outfit, which later became the look of a whole generation with the model Twiggy: skin-tight black sweater with super short pleated skirt, deep black tights and bob haircut – with big doe eyes with lots of mascara.
The look of a whole generation: skin-tight black sweater with super-short pleated skirt, jet black tights and bob haircut.
Image: picture alliance / empics
Mini skirt named after Mini Cooper
Quant began sewing clothes for himself from bedspreads and school uniforms and studied at the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London. There she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene.
At the age of 21, Quant opened her first shop on London’s famous King’s Road to sell clothes and accessories to the fashionable. With no one designing the clothes she envisioned, she began producing fashion herself. She named the mini skirt after her favorite car, the Mini Cooper.
Sewing patterns released for affordable clothing
This skirt length wasn’t new, but their designs quickly caught on on the streets of the fashion capitals of London and New York. Since it was important to her to make clothes affordable, she even published the patterns.
Quant is considered one of the most influential names on the fashion scene in the 1960s. Some experts have compared their influence on fashion to that of the Beatles on popular music. In 1966 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to the fashion industry. In 2014 she was made a “lady” and just a few months ago she was even awarded the high rank of “Companion of Honour”.