Mourning for the inventor of the mini skirt: British fashion designer Mary Quant (1930-2023) died at the age of 93. This was announced by her family in a statement. In the 1960s, the British sparked a veritable fashion revolution with her designs. The miniskirt has shaped an entire generation more than almost any other piece of clothing. The short skirt symbolizes the Swinging Sixities, freedom and self-determination.
At just 21 years old, Mary Quant opened her first fashion boutique in London’s trendy Chelsea district. The teacher’s daughter soon realized that the fashion of the time lacked that certain something and that nobody made the kind of clothes that she had in mind. She began to sew herself, modified common patterns and relied on unusual fabrics from London’s luxury department store Harrods. With ever shorter skirt lengths, she made bold fashion statements for the time.
The petite designer with the characteristic helmet hairstyle let the skirt length wander far beyond the critical knee length and designed the first mini collection, named after her favorite car. The piece of fabric struck a chord with an entire generation. Since then, the miniskirt has become an integral part of fashion. Mary Quant will probably also be remembered as its famous inventor.
