Our esteemed Patron, of sorts, Mary Quant (OBE FCSD) is a London native, born in Blackheath on February 11, 1934 - that makes her a progressive, trend-setting type with somewhat of a visionary streak, if you're into your astrology. If not, you have to admit it's not far wrong if you consider her achievements!

 

She's a graduate of illustration from Goldsmith's College, credited with the invention of the world-famous Mini Skirt and Hot Pants. Rumour has it that said skirt was named after her favourite car of the era.

 

Early career

Mary started her fashion career at a couture millinery outlet - that's a designer hat maker to those of us who don't speak much French. Then inspiration struck and, in 1955, she decided to branch out on her own, setting up a small boutique named Bazaar on the Kings Road in London, in partnership with her husband and their accountant. Her bestsellers were a taste of things to come: black sweatshirts, stretch stockings and small, white collars used to brighten up austere black dresses.

 

Suffice it  to say that with the precedent set for bold patterns and the advent of the 'Swinging Sixties', Mary decided to go all out and design her own range of clothing. Starting with her 'Madhouse Pyjamas' and a handful of skilled machinists, she soon moved on to working with an impressive 18 manufacturers at once!

 

The Infamous Skirt

Well, we couldn't talk Quant without delving into this aspect now, could we?!

With the risqué factor rising from somewhere around 1958, skirts gradually moved from socially acceptable, to daring, to downright dangerous lengths - or lack thereof should we say - and according to Mary, this was a good thing. After all, the shorter the skirt, the easier it is to run for that all-important bus.

Both our esteemed Ms. Quant and one Andre Courreges are credited with the creation of that most memorable of '60's fashion statements, the Mini Skirt. However, only Mary can say she named it as the legend behind the garment is that she named it after her favourite car of the era.... our beloved Mini!

That's were we come in....