The Inimitable Mary Quant

An example of the 1960’s “mod” look made famous by Quant

Mary Quant is to the Miniskirt what Chanel is to the Little Black Dress.

As I write, I am wearing a Chanel-esque pink tweed minidress from Kate Spade. Miniskirts and Minidresses are back in a big way! When you think of London’s “Swinging 60’s” you most likely conjure up the “mod” looks that she created, including A-line dress with the print by [Modigliani?]. Of course, what goes around comes around, and it could be argued that the silhouette she became famous for was reminiscent of the flapper look that Channel helped usher in in the 1920’s. At that time, the designer was rebelling against the constraints of the Victorian S-shape silhouette. In the 1960’s, the youth culture rebelled against the hourglass figure made prominent by Dior’s “New Look” which debuted in 1947 and grew in popularity throughout the 1950’s.

To be fair, there is some contention over who actually invented the mini skirt. Andre Courreges showed A-line minidresses in his 1964 “Space Age” collection, which can also be credited with popularizing (if not inventing) thigh-high leather boots. Sarah Mower in her article for Vogue makes the distinction that Courreges was still considered haute couture, meaning also custom-made for the wearer. By contrast, Mary Quant embraced the “Youthquake” revolution (a term coined by Diana Vreeland), and purposefully made her clothes ready-to-wear to satiate a younger demographic.

She was not just a revolutionary in the fashion world, however. Then, as in now, fashion and beauty go hand-in-hand. With help from Vidal Sassoon (yes, the legend himself!) she popularized the “bob” cut, and since then Sassoon has become renowned for their geometric cuts and daring looks. Mary Quant event launched her own cosmetics company in 1966, which lasted throughout the 1980’s. Quant retired in the year 2000, but not before earning an OBE (1966) and a Damehood (2015). She passed away on April 13th. But her legend will live on.