QUANT, MARY 1934-

LEADING FASHION DESIGNER IN THE YOUTH REVOLUTION OF THE 1950s AND 1960S

Early Life

Mary Quant studied at Goldsmith's College of Art in London, where she met Alexander Plunket-Greene. The two opened a small boutique called Bazaar in London's Chelsea district in 1955. Two years later they were married.

Making Her Own Designs

In the beginning Bazaar sold clothing from outside designers, but Quant soon became frustrated at the dearth of appropriate styles for young people. Clothes for youth should reflect that youthfulness, Quant believed; they should be spirited and unconventional, not stuffy and boring. Quant enrolled in night classes, bought material from Harrod's department store in London, and made up her own styles—aimed at independent, affluent working girls in their late teens or early twenties. The styles were a sensation, with a permanent line of young people waiting to get into the store.

Mod and Mini

Quant is given credit for starting the Chelsea or Mod look of the mid 1950s and creating the miniskirts of the 1960s. She used denim, colored flannel, and vinyl in clothes specifically for the young. And she showed her fashions with colored tights, not staid hosiery. Within seven years Quant's business was worth more than $2 million and was supplying 150 shops in Britain and 320 stores in the United States. Quant's Bazaar became a well-known meeting place for young people, and Chelsea became celebrated in movies, books, and songs.

Pivotal Figure

Quant made London the fashion capital of the world from the mid 1950s through the late 1960s. She was a major figure in the fashion earthquake of the time that reflected important social changes taking place around the world.