London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

British Miniskirt Designer Mary Quant Dies Aged 93

British Miniskirt Designer Mary Quant Dies Aged 93

Known almost as much for her iconic bob hairstyle as for her designs, the petite Quant also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascara.
London:

Mary Quant, the fashion queen of Britain's Swinging Sixties who popularised the miniskirt, died on Thursday at the age of 93, her family said.

Quant "died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK, this morning", they said in a statement, calling her "one of the most internationally recognised fashion designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator".

Quant went down in the history books for the mini-skirt and making women's clothes fun and affordable.

Whether she actually invented the iconic fashion item has been the subject of a long and bitter dispute with late French designer Andre Courreges, among others.

But her role in turning the thigh-skimming super-short hemlines into an international trend has not been disputed.

Known almost as much for her iconic bob hairstyle as for her designs, the petite Quant also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascara.

Her personality and style made her "probably the most famous fashion designer that has come out of this country", Jenny Lister, a fashion curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, told AFP in 2014.

"She was in the right place at the right time and that was part of her success."

'Shorter, Shorter!'

Born on February 11, 1930 in London, Quant studied at the capital's Goldsmiths college of art where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. He died in 1990.

Together, they opened their first boutique, Bazaar, in 1955 in the Chelsea district, which would become the beating heart of Swinging London.

Bazaar sold clothes and accessories and its basement restaurant became a meeting point for young people and artists.

The whole Chelsea district was soon attracting celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Telling The Guardian in 1967 that "good taste is death, vulgarity is life", Quant raised the hemline well above the knee, creating short dresses and skirts with simple shapes and strong colours that she described as "arrogant, aggressive and sexy".

She explored geometric designs, polka dots and contrasting colours, and played with new fabrics, including PVC and stretch fabrics, to achieve a modern and playful look.

Her models were showcased in extravagant and provocative window displays overlooking the King's Road, which became a mini-skirt catwalk and drew American photographers keen to picture Swinging London.

"City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop window with their umbrellas shouting 'immoral!' and 'disgusting!' at the sight of our mini-skirts over the tights, but customers poured in to buy," she recalled in her 1966 book "Quant by Quant".

The designer was also widely quoted as saying that "it was the girls on the King's Road who invented the mini...I wore them very short and the customers would say, 'shorter, shorter!'".

'Quite outrageous'

The era's most high-profile model Lesley Lawson, better known by the nickname Twiggy, made the mini-skirt popular abroad and with business booming, Quant opened a second shop in London in 1957.

She entered the American market in the early 1960s, collaborating with department store JC Penney. She also created the cheaper Ginger Group line and launched into cosmetics, all her designs featuring a trademark daisy.

Quant was "jolting England out a conventional attitude towards clothes," the Sunday Times said in choosing her for its 1963 International Fashion Award.

She turned her sights on the Japanese market in the 1970s, visiting the country several times to open stores.

Quant also scandalised British society with her frank views on sex, making headlines when she famously said she had shaved her pubic hair into the shape of a heart and dyed it green.

She "would make very provocative statements about sexuality and her private life as well, which perhaps went along with her clothes, which were seen as quite outrageous at the time", the V&A's Lister said.

Although her heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s, Quant's legacy can still be seen on the high-street, with its high fashion at low prices.

She sold her make-up company to a Japanese group in 2000, staying on as consultant.

Alongside breaking America, Quant considered being made a dame in 2015 her greatest achievement and called Queen Elizabeth II who bestowed it "the wisest woman I've ever met".

Asked by The Guardian in 2016 what she would change if she could edit her past, Quant replied: "Not much, I've had a lovely time."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
×