Mary Quant Dies: Iconic British Fashion Designer Was 93

Max Goldbart
Updated ·2 min read
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Dame Mary Quant, the iconic British fashion designer who is credited with designing the miniskirt and hotpants, has died aged 93.

Quant’s family issued a statement to the Press Association of Britain saying that she “died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK this morning.”

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The statement described the fashion icon as “one of the most internationally recognised fashion designers of the 20th Century and an outstanding innovator.”

“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,” added the statement.

Quant was widely lauded for decades for her hefty contribution to the global fashion world and will be most remembered for being one of the designers credited with the miniskirt and hotpants, which defined the swinging ’60s. Alongside Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, she was subsequently credited by famous fashion journalist Ernestine Carter as being one of the three top designers of the 20th century.

Quant was born in 1930 in London to Welsh teachers. She graduated from Goldsmiths University in 1953 and opened a boutique shortly afterwards, beginning to garner attention for her forward-thinking designs.

Following her breakaway 1960s success, she more recently designed the interior of the Mini (1000), opened dozens of shops and wrote several fashion books. Sadie Frost directed a 2021 documentary about her life titled Quant, with contributions from Kate Moss and Vivienne Westwood.

Doyens of the global fashion world and others were quick to pay tribute, including former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who called her “a leader of fashion but also in female entrepreneurship.”

The UK’s Victoria and Albert Museum said it is “impossible to overstate” her contribution, while British Pathe called her a “legendary fashion designer.”

Quant’s husband, Alexander Plunket Greene, died in 1990 and she is survived by her son Orlando Plunket Greene.

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