- Dame Mary Quant was a famous fashion designer.
- She invited the miniskirt in the 1960s.
- Mary died at age 93 on April 13, 2023.
Dame Mary Quant, the iconic fashion designer who invented and popularized the miniskirt, has died. Mary’s family released a statement revealing that she died “peacefully at home” in England on Thursday, April 13. Her family called her “one of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th Century and an outstanding innovator of the Swinging Sixties,” according to CNN.
Mary helped shape a new era in British fashion in the 1960s, when she invented the miniskirt that is still worn today. Mary solidified herself as a fashion icon whose contributions have never gone unnoticed. Learn more about Mary below.
Mary was a fashion designer.
Mary began her fashion career when she and her husband opened a boutique called Bazaar in Kings Road in 1955. She started designing her own clothes, for both men and women, that were sold at her store. Mary’s store was a huge success and she started exporting her clothes to the United States, according to ABC News.
She invited the miniskirt.
Mary was known as “the mother of the miniskirt.” It was in 1966 that she started creating miniskirts with hemlines up to 8 inches above the knee, which became an instant hit in the fashion world, according to ABC News. Mary reportedly had a limited budget but used different materials and colors to create the miniskirts that young women in the U.K. loved so much. It didn’t take long for Mary’s miniskirts to be recognized around the world.
She didn’t study fashion in college.
Ironically, Mary was not allowed to study fashion in college. Her parents, Jack and Mildred Quant, were both from mining families, and refused to let Mary pursue a career in fashion. Instead, Mary studied illustration and art education at Goldsmiths College in London. After graduating, Mary decided to start working in the fashion industry, which led her down the path that changed her life forever.
She was appointed to the Order of the British Empire.
Mary officially became a Dame in the U.K. in 1966, when she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the fashion industry. She received the honor at Buckingham Palace. In 1990, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
She was married.
Mary met her husband Alexander Plunket in 1953. Alexander’s grandfather was Irish singer Harry Plunket Greene. Alexander married Mary in 1957 and he came her business partner. He helped her open her boutique Bazaar. Alexander and Mary had a son, Orlando, who was born in 1968. Alexander remained married to Mary until he died in 1990.