The designer is also widely quoted as saying that "it was the girls on the King's Road who invented the mini.
"City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop window with their umbrellas shouting 'immoral!' and 'disgusting!' at the sight of our mini-skirts over the tights, but customers poured in to buy," she recalled in her 1966 book "Quant by Quant". Her models were showcased in extravagant and provocative window displays overlooking the King's Road, which became a mini-skirt catwalk and drew American photographers keen to document Swinging London. She explored geometric designs, polka dots and contrasting colours, and played with new fabrics, including PVC and stretch fabrics, to achieve a modern and playful look. Telling The Guardian in 1967 that "Good taste is death, vulgarity is life," Quant raised the hemline well above the knee, creating short dresses and skirts with simple shapes and strong colours that she described as "arrogant, aggressive and sexy". The whole Chelsea district was soon attracting celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Together, they opened their first boutique, Bazaar, in 1955 in the Chelsea district, which would become the beating heart of Swinging London.īazaar sold clothes and accessories, and its basement restaurant became a meeting point for young people and artists. "She was in the right place at the right time and that was part of her success."īorn on February 11, 1934, in London, Quant studied at the capital's Goldsmiths college of art where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. Her personality and style made her "probably the most famous fashion designer that has come out of this country," according to V&A fashion curator Jenny Lister.
Known almost as much for her iconic bob hairstyle as for her designs, the petite Quant also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascara. But her role in turning thigh-skimming super-short hemlines into an international trend has not been disputed.
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