Mary Quant - the Queen of Cool

 

Raincoat with her 
trademark
 front zip

When I was at secondary school, many moons ago, I took a course on design and the history of costume.  It was something I really enjoyed, so much so that I still have my project book today.  As part of the course we students were able to choose to study any dress designer we were particularly interested in.   I chose Mary Quant because at the time she was extremely hip, cool and I loved her original and "out there" styles. Unlike the more well known fashion designers or couturiers of the time, whose garments were expensive and well beyond the reach of most, Mary aimed her garments at the aspirational young working girl.  They were about twice the cost of garments sold at Marks and Spencer which made them attainable with a bit of hard saving. In 1966 Mary said "The whole point of fashion is to make fashionable clothes available to everyone"    

                                                                      

Left : A photo from my project

Right: And the real thing at the exhibition

In 1965 Skirt 4 guineas

Sweater 1 pound 15

Extract from my project

Mary Quant had studied art and was keen to wear fashionable clothes at prices she could afford.  At the time clothing was pretty conservative so Mary began designing her own highly original outfits.  In 1956, when she was just 21, she and her husband opened Bazaar, their shop in Chelsea, London.  It was the first "modern" shop for young people and became a roaring success.  Mary went from cutting clothes out on her bed and sewing them herself to employing a large staff in a workroom and eventually expanding to 1700 stores throughout the world. Mary's secret was that she spoke to the younger, trendy, fashionable woman who wanted to break loose from the austerity of dull post war attire.

 

Above left: Mary often used masculine features in her designs. She was playfully turning established norms on their heads.

Above right: Mary's take on both the school gym slip and flapper style.                           Beside it a party dress.

While I was researching Mary for my project there was a fashion show of her garments at Smith and Caughey's in Auckland. This iconic store was a stockist of Mary Quant and my grandmother, a lover of fashion, enjoyed nothing more than to attend a fashion show with me in tow. Perfect timing for me as I think this was the only show of Mary's garments ever held in New Zealand.

Left: Part of my report on the fashion show 

When I look at her garments now I don't see them as "out there" as they were back in the 60s and 70s.  We have now become used to the styles and trends she started and many, if not most, women's wear shops cater to the fashions loved by younger people but there is no doubt Mary was at the forefront of the youth fashion explosion.

Right: This suit was one of her most expensive items. In 1962 it cost 32 guineas, equal to $1400NZ today

Last weekend I went to the V and A (Victoria and Albert Museum) Mary Quant exhibition on loan to Auckland Art Gallery.    I was amazed at the number of garments on display together with accessories and even Mary Quant Daisy dolls. So many of her garments, although daring and different when she designed them, are clothes I would happily wear today and by today's standards are really quite conservative, although I would draw the line at wearing the mini skirt which she is credited with inventing.  Some trademarks of her designs were the unusual fabric combinations and the subtle colours.  She had a particular love of the colour ginger and used it extensively even calling one of her collections The Ginger Group.  I remember wearing ginger to be "in" although it really didn't suit me.  She also made the boring old raincoat a bright, fun and fashionable item and was a pioneer of bright, colourful sparkly tights.

I made all my clothes through my teenage years and 20s.  I loved this demure white organza dress by Mary (left) and copied it as closely as I could to wear for my engagement dinner.  I still remember that dress and how happy I felt wearing it on that special night even if I did make it myself!

A bright and stylish raincoat

I had included the 1970's pricings of her garments in my project. Jerseys ranging from One pound 15 shillings up, dresses from 5 guineas and suits from 20 guineas.  It doesn't sound much but when an office girl probably earned around 7 pounds a week it meant careful saving and balancing of the budget to get a highly prized Mary Quant garment.

I was so pleased to see this exhibition.   It was a fantastic trip down memory lane and even more thrilling to see garments I had used photos of in my project in the flesh so to speak.

#maryquant #aucklandartgallery #vanda