Responsible for transforming the miniskirt into a worldwide phenomenon and freeing the wardrobe from the 1950s craze, the British stylist Mary Quant died aged 93 at his home in Surrey, south of London, on Thursday morning (13), according to the statement.
Her family remembered her as “one of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th century and a noted innovator”.
Quant launched one of the first global superbrands, shaping a new era in fashion. The miniskirt became a defining mark of the “Swinging Sixties” – a movement of cultural effervescence of London youth in the 1960s.
For women who grew up wearing them, Quant’s designs represented freedom, empowerment and the rejection of their parents’ aesthetic standards.
A representative of the Victoria & Albert Museum said: “It is impossible to overestimate Quant’s contribution to fashion. She represented the joyous freedom of 1960s fashion and provided a new role model for young women. Fashion today owes much to her pioneering vision,” she concluded.
Born on February 11, 1930, in London, Mary opened her first store, Bazaar, in 1955, in Chelsea, which at the time was experiencing full growth. Clothing and accessories boutique quickly became a meeting point for young people and artists, attracting celebrities such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn.
Her personal style was unmistakable – especially for her famous brown fringe, the work of hairstylist Vidal Sassoon – also responsible for the looks of Mia Farrow and Twiggy.
Mary was known, above all, for her designs for very short dresses and skirts, with simple lines and bright colors. But she was also famous for her shorts, plastic raincoats and colorful makeup.
According to the newspaper O Globo, Mary declared that she did not have time to wait for women’s freedom. So she started a fashion revolution, which she said was aimed at saving young women of the 1950s and 1960s from being forced to dress like their mothers, women of another generation.
“It turns out that my clothes fit perfectly with teen fashion, with pop, bars […] and jazz clubs”, commented in Quant by Quant, his first autobiography, published in 1965.