Mary Quant

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You may not have any idea who Mary Quant is or what she did to help out the fashion industry but when you have read this blog post I hope you will realise what a gigantic help she has been! Let’s start with the history of her life…

Mary Quant was born on February 11th 1934 in London, England. She was a fashion designer and she had a very modern idea of what fashion is. For many fashion designers, she is their ultimate inspirational icon and she will remain an icon for a very long time.

Mary often stayed at home and sewed: “I think I always knew that what I wanted to do was to make clothes… clothes that would be fun to wear.” Her parents did not agree with her wanting to go to art school but she persuaded them to let her follow her dreams, Mary said “It was only with the greatest difficulty that I ever persuaded them to allow me to go to art school," she studied illustration at Goldsmiths College.

Mary (far right) with models wearing her short hemmed designs!

She was the first to design, construct and sell miniskirts and tunic dresses as she opened a boutique called “Bazaar” in 1955 with a friend named Archie McNair. Quant had decreased the length of hemlines by the mid-Sixties eight inches above the knee, she represented youth and culture flawlessly. Everybody wanted Mary to design clothes for them - she was approached to design a line for J.C. Penney, at that time the biggest retail chain in the United States. Quant was selected to give the stores a more up-to-date image, with her bright, geometric printed dresses.

Watch a video about Mary's designs below:

Mary Quant went on to design for Topshop, which opened in 1964 and as she said herself Quant created clothes that she wanted to wear such as the shortest miniskirts, distinctive dresses, bright tights and bras called Booby Traps.





Kate Bosworth wearing a colour block shift dress, a similar design to Mary Quant's



Mary Quant introduced bright coloured tights to the fashion industry



Did you know... Mary Quant named her skirt after the car, as she loved Minis so much!

Mary married her business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene and they had a son named Orlando.

In the 1960s, Mary Quant released hot pants, her last big trend. She then went on to concentrate on household goods and make-up. In 1988, Quant designed the interior of the Mini Designer car, which was initially called the Mini Quant. It featured black and white striped seats with red trimming, the seatbelts were red and the passenger seats had Quant’s signature on.

Did you know... Mary was appointed an OBE for her services to the fashion industry!

She was unquestionably a memorable fashion icon. If you are intrigued to find out more, keep reading…

Mary played a huge part in the Mod/Chelsea trend that was so popular, she created the Chelsea Girl, everything she did was influential. Her beauty regime included smoky eyes and sleek bob haircuts. She changed people’s outlook on fashion and her sharply cut geometric hairstyle cut by Vidal Sassoon was one of the most renowned and ideal cuts.

Mary Quant was responsible for the Lolita look:

·         Hot pants

·         PVC raincoats

·         Colour block shift dresses

·         Mini skirts

·         Pinafore dresses

·         Bright Tights

·         Vinyl boots

·         Mix and match patterns

I have found similar designs to Mary Quant’s which are affordable which you can see beneath:

I hope you have enjoyed this article; I would appreciate it if you could leave a comment below.