Dame Mary Quant who died this week aged 93 played a major part in what was known as London’s Swinging Sixties. Quant was one of the fashion designers who took credit for the miniskirt and hotpants in an era that suddenly focused on making clothes for a youthful generation that until then had little choice than having to dress in the same manner as their parents.
It had taken almost the entire 1950s to escape the austerity the country had faced after WW2, and leading designers like Quant ….. and also Biba’s Barbara Hulanicki were responsible for a seismic shift in fashion. Clothing was a major part of a youth-driven cultural revolution that emphasized modernity and fun-loving hedonism.
Quant was responsible for turning Chelseas’ Kings Road into an iconic shopping street and soon it seemed that girls were not just wearing the shortest mini skirts they could find, but they were also copying Quant’s bob cut. Created by Vidal Sassoon who suddenly became the hairdresser of that era.
The freedom that came with Quant’s designs was a factor in the sexual liberation of the time n included increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships. The legalization of homosexuality didn’t occur until the end of the decade.
In the documentary below the soft-spoken Quant who had married an aristocrat may seem an unlikely iconic designer who helped define a whole era, but she was and certainly deserves all the wonderful tributes being made this week
Dame Mary Quant 11 February 1930 13 April 2023 (aged 93) R.I.P.
Labels: 2023, Dame Mary Quant, fashion designer, icon, obituary, the swinging sixties
