MARY QUANT FASHION PLUS

I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘shorter, shorter’.” I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted. She said: “It was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. Mary Quant was one of the leading lights of the British fashion scene in the 1960s (Image: Getty Images) In 2014, Dame Mary, who named the skirt after her favourite make of car, recalled its “feeling of freedom and liberation”. She began experimenting with shorter hemlines in the late 1950s, culminating in the creation of one of the defining fashions of the following decade. Dame Mary was taken on as an apprentice to a milliner before making her own clothes and in 1955 opened Bazaar, a boutique on the King’s Road in Chelsea. She gained a diploma in the 1950s in Art Education at Goldsmith’s College, where she met her husband Alexander Plunket Greene, who later helped establish her brand.

The 92-year-old fashion designer is credited with making fashion accessible to the masses with her sleek, streamlined and vibrant designs.īorn in south-east London on February 11 1930, Dame Mary is the daughter of two Welsh school teachers. She was one of the most influential figures in the fashion scene of the 1960s and was appointed for services to fashion.

Dame Mary joins an illustrious list of recipients including broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, actress Dame Judi Dench, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and singer-songwriter Sir Elton John.

MARY QUANT FASHION PLUS

It is sometimes regarded as the junior honour to the Order of Merit and is made up of the sovereign, plus no more than 65 members, who may use the letters CH after their names. The special award, granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government, was founded on Jby George V. Designer Dame Mary Quant, who is widely credited with popularising the mini skirt, has been appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the New Year Honours list.

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