“Mary Quint died peacefully at home this morning,” his family said. “He was a world-renowned fashion designer and an outstanding innovator of Swinging Sixties.” The Swinging Steeze refers to a youth-led cultural revolution that emerged in England in the mid-to-late 1960s. Emphasizing modernity and liking fun things, it has blossomed in the fields of art, music, and fashion, focusing on London. In general, the first person to create miniskirts is known as a French designer named Andre Curezou. Quant is a person who popularized miniskirts and an innovator in the fashion world who made hot pants, skinny rib sweaters (bone sweaters), and even waterproof mascara.
Quant opened a boutique “bazaar” in Chelsea, London in 1955 with her future husband and business partner Alexander Plunkett Green. The store sold clothes and accessories, which became a meeting place for young people and artists. Quant introduced a short, clingy skirt through the bazaar.
He then named it “Mini Skirt” after his favorite car brand “Mini.”The thigh-viewing miniskirt sparked a backlash from some conservative Londoners, who, according to his autobiography, “Quant” (1966), saw gentlemen in fedora knocking on the store’s show window with umbrellas and shouting, “Unholy!” and “disgusting!”However, customers flocked to the store to buy mini skirts. Quant said in an interview that it was the girls on King’s Road (the streets of Chelsea, London). Quant said, “Even if I wear a miniskirt very short, customers will say, ‘Shorter! I used to say ‘Shorter!'” he recalled. Mary Quant was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1966 by Queen Elizabeth II
Business flourished further, and Quant opened a second store in London in 1957. In the early 1960s, it entered the U.S. market in cooperation with American department store JC Penny. Quant was also knighted in 1966 by the order of the British Empire (OBE) and in 2015.Quant’s miniskirt was simple and neat in strong colors, which Quant described as “arrogant, aggressive and sexy.” In an interview with the British Guardian, he left a famous saying, “High taste is death and vulgarity is life.”
Chang Young Choi
US ASIA JOURNAL
