British miniskirt pioneer Mary Quant dies aged 93: family

Mary Quant, the fashion queen of Britain's Swinging Sixties who popularized the miniskirt, died on Thursday at the age of 93, her family said.

Quant "died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK, this morning", they said in a statement, calling her "one of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator".

Quant went down in the history books for the mini-skirt and making women's clothes fun and affordable.

Whether she actually invented the iconic fashion item has been the subject of a long and bitter dispute with late French designer Andre Courreges, among others.

But her role in turning the thigh-skimming super-short hemlines into an international trend has not been disputed.

Known almost as much for her iconic bob hairstyle as for her designs, the petite Quant also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascara.

Her personality and style made her "probably the most famous fashion designer that has come out of this country", Jenny Lister, a fashion curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, told AFP in 2014.

"She was in the right place at the right time and that was part of her success."

'Shorter, Shorter!'

Born on February 11, 1930 in London, Quant studied at the capital's Goldsmiths college of art where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. He died in 1990.

Together, they opened their first boutique, Bazaar, in 1955 in the Chelsea district, which would become the beating heart of Swinging London.

Bazaar sold clothes and accessories and its basement restaurant became a meeting point for young people and artists.

The whole Chelsea district was soon attracting celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Telling The Guardian in 1967 that "good taste is death, vulgarity is life", Quant raised the hemline well above the knee, creating short dresses and skirts with simple shapes and strong colors that she described as "arrogant, aggressive and sexy".

She explored geometric designs, polka dots and contrasting colors, and played with new fabrics, including PVC and stretch fabrics, to achieve a modern and playful look.

Her models were showcased in extravagant and provocative window displays overlooking the King's Road, which became a mini-skirt catwalk and drew American photographers keen to picture Swinging London.

"City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop window with their umbrellas shouting 'immoral!' and 'disgusting!' at the sight of our mini-skirts over the tights, but customers poured in to buy," she recalled in her 1966 book "Quant by Quant".

The designer was also widely quoted as saying that "it was the girls on the King’s Road who invented the mini...I wore them very short and the customers would say, 'shorter, shorter!'".

'Quite outrageous'

The era's most high-profile model Lesley Lawson, better known by the nickname Twiggy, made the mini-skirt popular abroad and with business booming, Quant opened a second shop in London in 1957.

She entered the American market in the early 1960s, collaborating with department store JC Penney. She also created the cheaper Ginger Group line and launched into cosmetics, all her designs featuring a trademark daisy.

Quant was "jolting England out a conventional attitude towards clothes," the Sunday Times said in choosing her for its 1963 International Fashion Award.

She turned her sights on the Japanese market in the 1970s, visiting the country several times to open stores.

Quant also scandalized British society with her frank views on sex, making headlines when she famously said she had shaved her pubic hair into the shape of a heart and dyed it green.

She "would make very provocative statements about sexuality and her private life as well, which perhaps went along with her clothes, which were seen as quite outrageous at the time", the V&A's Lister said.

Although her heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s, Quant's legacy can still be seen on the high-street, with its high fashion at low prices.

She sold her make-up company to a Japanese group in 2000, staying on as consultant.

Alongside breaking America, Quant considered being made a dame in 2015 her greatest achievement and called Queen Elizabeth II who bestowed it "the wisest woman I've ever met".

Asked by The Guardian in 2016 what she would change if she could edit her past, Quant replied: "Not much, I've had a lovely time."

© 2023 AFP