Mary Quant, the creator of short hems and introducer of undergarments for daytime wear
As the sad passing of Mary Quant is announced today, it’s worth just noting how much this woman both achieved for herself, business and the UK fashion industry. Most know her for the mini skirt however this feisty & opinionated business woman - who claimed she invented the common duvet found on beds across the world - deserves to be championed not only for being BOLD but being herself throughout her 93 years.
Mary Quant, fashion designer and business pioneer. Photo not taken by Be Bold Be You and found on Google images.
When her school-teacher parents said she wasn’t allowed to go to a fashion college she chose to embrace her creative & artistic flair, and study Illustration at Goldsmiths. It was here that she met her future husband, and one of her two business partners, Alexander Plunket Greene. Staying in the creative industries, and choosing to socialise with the fabulously named “Chelsea set” and social scenes, Quant graduated with a degree in Art Education - as preferred by her parents - but went on to be an apprentice with a hat maker, as preferred by Mary, herself.
The “Chelsea set” was a group of young artists, film directors and socialites in the 1950’s reportedly known for dressing unconventionally for the time and it would be here where she would meet her second business partner, lawyer-turned-photographer Archie McNair. Quant, along with her husband - Plunket Greene - and McNair chose to opened a restaurant in the basement of a building Plunket Greene had purchased in 1955, along with a boutique named “Bazaar” on the ground floor. It is reported that the trio were a powerhouse with Quant leading design, Plunket Greene focusing on marketing and McNair bringing legal & business advice however I’d argue it’s down to Mary Quant’s vision drive and sheer tenacity that her iconic style began to get noticed in the fashion & retail industry.
For example, did you know that she was featured in Harper’s Magazine with a self described “pair of 'mad' lounge pyjamas”? The coverage in the magazine let to an American manufacturer buying the design which was originally made for the opening of her fashion boutique, Bazaar, in Chelsea. She created the design after not being impressed with the variety available through the wholesale market for her own store. A fashion designer was being born.
Examples of Mary Quant’s work. Photo not taken by Be Bold Be You and was sourced from Google Images.
Due to her parents wish for her not to study fashion, Quant described herself as a “self taught deisgner” choosing to improve and develop her skills at evening classes on how to cut fabric. She chose to reinvent cuts and stitches so that she was able to manipulate mass-printed fabric patterns into her own iconic visions. Described by the V&A museum as a “cottage industry” approach, her way in using profits to continually stock new fabrics and create new designs meant that her shop - Bazaar - was continually stocked with new looks & designs and her business sense saw her price them competitively, for the time.
Quant allowed her personality to become part of the Bazaar brand, with the place becoming known for loud music, free drinks and witty window displays which, subesequently, led to extended opening hours creating a 'scene' that was reported to often go late into the evening. The “Chelsea set” vibes were being wanted by people outside of the Chelsea area. The brand was growing.
Men’s cardigans were being reinvented and women were being inspired, by Quant’s redesigns, to wear them as dresses. “Practical” school outfits Quant once wore as a child were being reinvented by her to be BOLD and her clothes were getting so popular that a second shop was opened in 1957. A year later, in 1958, Quant reinvented a three piece suit influenced by the Victorian era - including hat, knickerbockers and a tunic style shift - making it out of grey flannel and thrust what was classed as an “undergarment” into our everyday lives, down the Chelsea high street and beyond.
Mary Quant’s daisy design, which became an icon of her fashion & cosmetic brands.
I could go on… Brightly coloured tights, “skinny rib” sweaters (which was apparently discovered after she decided to try on a child’s jumper for fun!), PVC clothing and, of course, short hemlines for skirts and dresses were all down to this iconic woman. Lingerie through to bedlinen and wallpaper through to swimwear, this creative business woman had designed it all. It is even reported, by the V&A Museum that this iconic UK fashion designer had at least one of her products in up to seven million women’s individual wardrobes! And it all started from a little independent, UK business, in Chelsea. Oh, and don’t get me started on her cosmetics line.
If you ever need a moment to feel inspired to achieve something, by being you, Mary Quant is a blumin’ good place to start. Another woman that proves the Victorian poet, Oscar Wilde, right… “be bold, be you. Everyone else is already taken.”
