Dame Mary Quant dead: Fashion designer who invented the miniskirt dies aged 93

Dame Mary Quant, a fashion icon of the swinging sixties and the inventor of the “dangerously short” miniskirt, has died in Britain.

Fashion designer Mary Quant has died aged 93. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Iconic fashion designer Dame Mary Quant, who invented the miniskirt, has died aged 93.

Quant’s bright, skimpy clothing sent shockwaves through the world and her slick Vidal Sassoon crop was the “It” haircut — copied by millions to this day.

Famous for her miniskirts, hot pants and boldly coloured tights, Mary’s design motto was: “Be yourself, free yourself,” reports The Sun.

In 2021, a major retrospective her work was shown to acclaim at the Bendigo Art Gellerty.

On Thursday, her family announced she had passed away at the age of 93.

Fashion designer Mary Quant has died aged 93. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

A statement said: “Dame Mary Quant died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK, this morning.

“Dame Mary, aged 93, was one of the most internationally recognised fashion designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator of the Swinging Sixties.

“She opened her first shop Bazaar in the Kings Road in 1955 and her far sighted and creative talents quickly established a unique contribution to British fashion.”

The daughter of Welsh teachers Jack and Mildred Quant, London- born Mary studied illustration at Gold­smiths College, London, then became an apprentice milliner in Mayfair.

She switched to fashion design and in 1955 she opened Bazaar in London’s Chelsea district.

Rebelling against dreary fifties styles, she sold “clothes that had nothing to do with our mothers”.

Mary Quant had a long and successful career in fashion. (Photo by PIERRE VERDY / AFP)

‘Dangerously short’ miniskirt

Quant is most famous for having brought the miniskirt to the masses.

She began experimenting with shorter hemlines in the late 1950s, culminating in the creation of one of the defining fashions of the following decade.

In 2014, Dame Mary, who named the skirt after her favourite make of car, recalled its “feeling of freedom and liberation”.

Mary Quant was first honoured by the Queen in 1966. She invented the iconic miniskirt. (Photo by CENTRAL PRESS / AFP)

The skirt was named after the Mini car.

She said: “It was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted.

“I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘shorter, shorter’.”

Other styles from the 1960s included Peter Pan collars, as well as knitwear, swimwear and accessories and garments made using Butterick patterns and the “dangerously short” micro-mini skirt, as well as “paint box” make-up and plastic raincoats.

Quant also revolutionised the high street with hot pants, and trousers for women, as well as accessories, tights and make-up, while using the daisy brand design that became synonymous with her creations.

Her clothes were popularised by stars of the time including Jean Shrimpton, Pattie Boyd, Cilla Black and Twiggy.

Quant’s slick Vidal Sassoon crop was the “It” haircut of its day. (Photo by Ronald Dumont/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Tributes have today flooded in for the fashion queen.

Alexandra Shulman, former editor in chief of British Vogue, said: “She was one of the truly influential figures in fashion and defined the way women thought about themselves.

“Her influence on both fashion and women’s liberation cannot be underestimated. Her sleek, simple designs were a million miles from the kinds of shapes and costumes women were wearing in the 1950s.”

In 2021, actor and film producer Sadie Frost created a fashion documentary about Dame Mary called Quant.

Contributions to the biographical film came from prominent figures in the world of fashion, such as supermodel Kate Moss, designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, beauty entrepreneur and make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury, designer Jasper Conran and designer Dame Zandra Rhodes.

This story appeared in The Sun and is reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Dame Mary Quant dead: Fashion designer who invented the miniskirt dies aged 93