MARY QUANT
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| A Matter of Style pg. 205 |
BIOGRAPHY
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| Mary Quant- A Matter of Style pg. 223
Who is Mary Quant? Mary Quant is a pivotal fashion designer who rose to popularity, specifically in the 1960's with her iconic designs such as the miniskirt and go-go boots. Yes, we should all thank Mary Quant because she is one of two designers who has been recognized from putting miniskirts on the map in the fashion world. Still to this day there is a bitter dispute on whether or not Mary Quant or Andre Courreges "invented" the first initial miniskirt. Both designers were creating similar trendsetting designs in the 1960's and were influenced by a similar zeitgeist, therefore it will remain a fashion mystery for decades to come. Regardless of your argument or point of view on the two designers, we cannot say that Mary Quant or Andres Courreges were more influential than the other. Mary Quant was positioned in the right spot, in the right time and that is why she is considered legendary. Quant was born on February 11, 1934 in London. She was raised in a home where she was taught to have and share in own ideas and express them freely amongst the world. She was the daughter of two university teachers who wanted their daughter to be very well educated and rounded in every aspect possible. We can say without a doubt that Quant's childhood enabled her to be the successful business woman she is. At the tender age of only sixteen, she left home to live a bohemian life in the capital. It was during this time where Mary Quant was able to learn and grow as an unique individual and really came into her own person. However, she enrolled in art school with her parents permission and quickly starting working for a milliner. Quant was on such a tight budget that she only ate a few times a week! The conception of being a designer did not occur to Quant until 1955 when she saw an under served market and opened her first clothing boutique in Chelsea, London, called Bazaar, with Alexander Plunket Greene (future husband at the time) and her accountant Archie McNair. Quant quickly found success in her first store and opens her second Bazaar store in Knightsbridge to serve the flux of overwhelming popularity of her first store. Being the business savvy career woman she is, Mary decides to begin exporting to the United States. As a result, the Ginger Group was launched which was Mary Quant's lower priced line for ultimate mass production. As Quant's fashion empire began to expand so did her designs such as the miniskirt in 1965 and her signature hot pants in 1969. The overall goal of Mary Quant was to produce clothing that was as functional to the everyday woman as it was affordable to their wallet's and that is exactly what laid the foundation to her success. Quant also switched gears in 1966 were she crossed over into make-up creating the "paint-box" set similar to today's were you find all the colors of make-up consolidated on one palette. It was also in 1966, were Quant receives one of her most treasured moments, Officer of the Order of the British Empire. With half of her life spent serving the women of the world, Mary Quant resigned as the Design Director from her own company, Mary Quant, Ltd. Today we find that the company continues to thrive, finding success in Asia particularly with their cosmetic products. Mary Quant is still alive today living where she has always found her inspiration, London.
EARLY INFLUENCES
Early in Mary Quant's career she was influenced by three things in particular which include: women's rights, the Youthquake movement, and pop art. As mentioned in the Biography section, Mary Quant flocked to the center of London early on in her life to find her inspiration. Over the course of Mary Quant's career there was a significant shift in women's rights where the traditionally domestic roles were being rejected. The idea of conformity and respectability of following past "housewife" roles were no longer a desire for the younger generations coming into their own. Women began to understand that they could indeed use their own ideas and thoughts to control their lives. With the younger generations coming into adulthood we also starting seeing the Youthquake movement booming especially in London. The Youthquake movement was all about having expressing youthful exuberance and finding individuality which popularized groups such as teddy boys and mods. Quant was inspired by these ideas and it was her main focus to provide clothing that focused directly on the youth movement and women's rights. With the culture shifts happening all around the world, a new form of art, called pop art, emerged onto the scene. Mary Quant admired artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein through their qualities expressed in their art. Specifically psychedelic prints and motifs that were visually appealing from a graphic standpoint. As we can see, women's rights, the Youthquake movement, and pop art are directly correlated to the early influences of Mary Quant and her designs.
Below is an example of Andy Warhol's Pop Art. The Dollar Sign is one of Warhol's most recognized pieces of art that symbolized consumerism and how the overall art system is tied to the commercial marketplace. (http://puffin.creighton.edu/museums/archive/7_abarnett/dollar.htm)  Early Influences Section-(Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers- pg. 52 and 53)
DESIGNS
Lovenski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers- pg. 53
A Matter of Style pg. 220
A Matter of Style- pg. 221
Foale and Tuffin- pg. 74
Foale and Tuffin- pg. 75
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
As touched upon in the Early Influences section, Mary Quant was influenced and in tunes with the times. The designer's work was a correlation between her vision and the zeitgeist-also referred to as the spirit of the times. Quant defined what a it meant to be a woman during the one of the most important social shifts of the 20th century. It was it 1955 when Quant started to realize that there was not a selection of clothing being offered to women that could be considered acceptable based on age. That was not Quant's only discover, she also noticed that the clothing being offered to the public was not affordable and did not allow for the range of activity and comfort that Quant thought clothing should have or be. Mary Quant stated in her autobiography, Quant by Quant, "The young were tired of wearing essentially the same thing as their mothers". Mary was essentially correct because she understood that between the social shift in women's rights and the Youthquake movement, that the younger generations of women wanted to differentiate themselves from past generations of women by expressing who the really were. Quant's solution to the issue was by opening her clothing store, Bazaar, which was decorated by bright colored pop art (reminscent to the spirit of the times). The design aesthetic of Quant's store was appealing to the young modern women. Mary Quant can be referenced as an icon because she had no formal training, saw an under served market and niche, and created an empire that has been highly successful for over four decades now. Mary Quant also discusses her designs during the 1960's in her autobiography, Quant by Quant, "We were in the beginning of a tremendous renaissance in fashion. The clothes I made happened to fit in exactly with the teenage trend, with the pop records and espress bars and jazz clubs".
Mary Quant has been influenced by the work of other designers such as Claire McCardell, Coco Chanel, Andre Courreges, and Pierre Cardin. For example, Mary Quant wanted to identify with the focus on physical activity, the sense of lightheartedness and fluid fit as seen in McCardell's work. McCardell had a way of making clothing accessible to the mass market and Quant inspired to do the same by providing the consumer with excellent fit and affordability (which she did very well). I know that it may seem odd to relate Coco Chanel to Mary Quant considering the two designers designs in general could not be more different yet, they shared an affinity for wearable clothing the could be worn by the independent women they were designing for. Mary Quant brought the white collar to life in her designs, similar to what Chanel did with her collars (just not always a white collar). Of course many assume that Andre Courreges and Mary Quant were bitter rivals parallel to Chanel and Schiaparelli, this was simply not the case. In fact, both designers sought to define a new approach to dress women during the 1960's and it is my opinion that they fed off of each other in a positive manner. And last but, not least we look at how Pierre Cardin influenced Quant. Pierre Cardin believed in ready-to-wear clothing that could be worn daily by a women opposed to couture. Cardin was a rebel being expelled from the Chambre Syndicale, which is the governing body of the French fashion industry, for focusing on ready-to-wear. Mary Quant also believes highly in ready-to-wear that is experimental and innovative just like Cardin's work.
Critical Analysis section- (Quant by Quant, Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers- pg. 52 and 53).
ANALYSIS OF FUTURE TRENDS
Mary Quant has influenced three major trends that will continue into the future. These trends include the following: the miniskirt, go-go boots, and hot pants. Even though these fashion trends are not seen season after season, they do emerge from time to time, and are constantly being evolved into a newer version of the trends themselves.
Take for example, Mary Quant's go-go boots opposed to a newer outlook of rain boots and thigh high boots. It is clearly evident that Mary Quant's go-go boots of the 1960's has transitioned into other trends and will continue to evolve and emerge into future trends to come. Making Quant's go-go boots a lasting silhouette in fashion history.
 
(Mary Quant Go-Go Boots---http://giselaandzoe.blogspot.com/2011/06/mary-quant-fashion-from-1969-piero.html, Rain Boots---http://www.piperlime.com/products/rain-boots.jsp, Thigh High Boots---http://www.fashionpeach.com/thigh-high-boots/)
Please view the fabulous video below for a wonderful reference to show how the miniskirt has evolved over the decades to becoming a fashion trend that will continue in the future and will remain a lasting silhouette in fashion history.
1960's, Mary Quant's Designs-. YouTube. n.d.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB5eIfHXkWQ.
A Matter of Style- Intimate Portraits of 10 Women Who
Changed Fashion. Italy: White Star
Publishers, n.d.
Boots, Mary Quant Go-Go. n.d. http://giselaandzoe.blogspot.com/2011/06/mary-quant-fashion-from-1969-piero.html.
Boots, Rain. n.d.
http://www.piperlime.com/products/rain-boots.jsp .
Boots, Thigh High. n.d.
http://www.fashionpeach.com/thigh-high-boots/.
Courreges, Andre. Miniskirt of Andre Courreges. n.d.
< http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/designers_en_broi12>.
Lovinski, Noel Palomo-. The World's Most Influential
Fashion Designers. Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc.,
2010.
Miniskirt, History of the. YouTube. n.d. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYj2jLK09kc.
Quant by Quant.
n.d.
Warhol, Andy. Dollar Sign. n.d.
http://puffin.creighton.edu/museums/archive/7_abarnett/dollar.htm).
Webb, Iain R. Foale and Tuffin- The Sixties. A Decade in
Fashion. England: ACC Editions, Antique Collectors' Club Ltd, n.d
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