20th Century Designers: Designer Project: Mary Quant: Biography 1934-Present

Introduction/Biography

(Style Sight)

Mary Quant is a British fashion designer who was born in Blackheath, London in 1934 and still is alive and well today. (Polan 103). Her parents were Welsh teachers who both earned a degree at Cardiff University, then decided to move to London to pursue careers. (Polan). They quickly fell into the middle class, raising Quant in a stable household. She attended the Goldsmith’s College of Art at age 16, having gone there on a scholarship to pursue a degree in teaching art. She met her husband, and future partner Alexander Plunket Greene at the art school. They would party, and go out during the nights, at times upset because the culture of which they were living wasn’t a place for young people to go and have a good time. Eventually, Quant dropped out of school; after all she didn’t see a future in being an art teacher. (Polan 103) Quant and her love Alexander were not bringing in a significant salary, therefore were under a tight budget with money. She could not afford clothing, so she began designing and wearing her own collections. The pieces she made were seen as “rather odd” (Polan 103) The outside viewers saw Quant in her own garments, and at times would yell “God, this modern Youth!” (Polan 103) The citizens were older, and living in the time of the conservative, straight line cuts of 1950s fashion. They were not use to seeing people dressed other than what was the normal of the day. Quants styles were out there, and reflected her personality and want for a new look. It was the beginning of what would become the style of the 1960s. The look was becoming more “youthful, imaginative, challenging, and modern.” (Polan 103) In 1955 Quant, her husband Alexander, and entrepreneur Archie McNair opened their own boutique on Kings Road in London. (Polan 103) Finally Quant had entered the fashion world has she had always wanted to. The name of the boutique was Bazaar, the items it catered to included hats, jewelry, scarves, and sweaters. At the boutique is where Quant first began designing more of her own clothes to sell. Her early influence included the people who strode around Kings Road, and the memory of girls she saw in her ballet class, wearing a “tiny skirt over thick black tights worn with little ankle white socks and shiny black patent leather Mary Jane tap shoes.” (Polan 104) Her fashion designing continued into the future, each item selling out quickly and was always demanded by customers. The boutique became an instant success, gaining Quant international fame in the fashion industry, and establishing her as an icon for years to come.

Below are images that represent Mary Quants designs: