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Famous
Designers > Mary Quant
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Mary
Quant
Mary Quant (born February 11, 1934) is an English
fashion designer one of the many designers who took credit for inventing
the miniskirt and hot pants.
Born in Kent, Quant studied illustration at Goldsmith's College before
taking a job with a couture milliner. In October 1955, she teamed
up with her husband Alexander Plunkett Greene, and an accountant Archie
McNair, to open a clothes shop on the Kings Road in London called
Bazaar.
Following the positive reaction to a pair of "mad house pyjamas"
designed for the opening, and dissatisfied with the variety of clothes
available to her, Quant decided to make her own range of clothing.
Initially working solo, she was soon employing a handful of machinists,
producing unusual clothes she considered to be fun.
Her skirts had been getting shorter since about 1958 - a development
she considered to be practical and liberating, allowing women the
ability to run for a bus. The miniskirt, for which she is arguably
most famous, became one of the defining fashions of the 1960s. The
miniskirt was developed separately by Andre Courrèges, and
there is disagreement as to who came up with the idea first.
In addition to the miniskirt, Quant is often credited with inventing
the coloured and patterned tights that tended to accompany the garment,
although these are also attributed to Cristobal Balenciaga.
Irrespective of whether she invented these items, Quant was one of
their major popularisers, largely thanks to the fact that Bazaar was
a popular haunt for the fashionable Chelsea Set of "Swinging
London". By 1961, Quant had opened a second Bazaar in Knightsbridge
and by 1963 she was exporting to the USA. To keep up with demand,
Quant went into mass-production, setting up the Ginger Group.
Quant's popularity was at its peak in the mid 1960s, during which
time she produced the dangerously short micro-mini skirt, "paint-box"
make-up, and plastic raincoats. She was described as being the leading
fashion force outside Paris.
In 1966 Quant was appointed an OBE for services to the fashion industry.
In the late 1960s, Quant launched hot pants, which was her last big
fashion development. Through the 1970s and 1980s she concentrated
on household goods and make-up.
In 2000, she resigned as director of Mary Quant Ltd., her cosmetics
company, after a Japanese buy-out. There are over 200 Mary Quant Colour
shops in Japan, where Quant fashions continue to enjoy some popularity.
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