Fashion Designer Dame Mary Quant Dies At Age 93

The world lost a fixture in the fashion industry today. On Thursday morning, April 13, fashion designer Dame Mary Quant died at age 93, according to a statement her family gave to the Press Association of Britain agency. The British creative, who was best known for popularizing the miniskirt, passed away peacefully at her home in Surrey, in southern England. “[She] was one of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator of the Swinging Sixties,” Quant’s family said in the release.

Quant was born and raised in Blackheath, London. Despite her parents’ disapproval of attending fashion school, she studied illustration at Goldsmiths, a university in London. The designer kicked off her fashion career in 1953 when she opened a boutique, named Bazaar, with her husband Alexander Plunkett Greene on London’s King’s Road. The couple, who were both 21 at the time, had just graduated from art school two years prior. The store, which instantly amassed a loyal following, initially sold looks Quant sourced from the wholesale market. After becoming less than pleased with the outfits in the boutique, the self-taught designer started filling the London shop with her own creations.

Bazaar was in a league of its own, as it ushered in a new wave of bright, playful looks that attracted a new generation of working women. Moreover, Quant’s simple designs were a fresh alternative to the structured silhouettes that saturated the market. In fact, the designer wrote in her hit 1966 autobiography Quant by Quant, “The young were essentially tired of wearing the same [clothes] as their mothers.” The shop evolved into much more than just a place to buy clothing; Bazaar was a hangout spot for the town’s fashion-forward community.

In the ‘60s, Quant began trying her hand at itty-bitty hemlines, which was a controversial look at the time. By 1964, she birthed the miniskirt, naming it after her favorite car, the Mini Cooper. (Though some experts point to Quant for inventing the micro silhouette, others credit André Courrèges, who introduced the short hemline the same year as Quant.) In addition to the style, the legendary designer was also known for pioneering tights to wear with the skirt, specifically in bold, unexpected shades like mustard yellow and grape.

On the heels of the designer’s death, the fashion community shared its condolences on social media. The Victoria & Albert Museum tweeted: “It’s impossible to overstate Quant’s contribution to fashion. She represented the joyful freedom of 1960s fashion, and provided a new role model for young women.” Meanwhile, former Editor-In-Chief of British Vogue Alexandra Shulman expressed her sympathy on the platform, sharing: “RIP Dame Mary Quant. A leader of fashion but also in female entrepreneurship — a visionary who was much more than a great haircut.”

Quant is survived by her son, Orlando Plunket Greene, and three grandchildren.