British designer Mary Quant died on Thursday at the age of 93. Quant was considered one of the main fashion figures of the “Swinging Sixties” and revolutionized fashion by popularizing the miniskirt, colorful make-up and patterned tights. Her title as the creator of the miniskirt has been the subject of numerous disputes, notably with French designer André Courrèges, but the Brit was undoubtedly instrumental in the shift towards short and fitted cuts. Mary Quant’s distinctive personality and distinctive fashion style, with the famous brown haircut sculpted by Vidal Sassoon, has helped her become one of Britain’s most iconic fashion designers. Fashion owes her, among other things, hot pants, raincoats made of PVC, colorful make-up and waterproof mascara. ## From school desks to “Bazaar” Born in London on February 11, 1930, she took her first steps in fashion with the man who would later become her husband, Alexander Plunket Greene. Quant was initially drawn to the eccentric dress styles of the young students she met on the desks at Goldsmiths School of Arts in London. In 1955, the couple and a friend opened their first boutique, Bazaar, in what was then the up-and-coming Chelsea area. The clothing and accessories shop and the restaurant in the basement became a meeting place for young people and artists. Clientele included Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She also displayed her colourful, extravagant fashion in eye-catching shop window displays. ## Life on the Kings Road “The gentlemen in hats and umbrellas banged on our shop window with their umbrellas and yelled ‘immoral!’ and ‘disgusting!’ when they saw our miniskirts over the tights, but customers flocked to buy,” Quant wrote in her latest autobiography in 2012. The King’s Road, where the boutique was located, became the Scene for girls in miniskirts in a constant party atmosphere that was typical of “Swinging London”. Carnaby Street in Soho was another focal point. Due to her success, the designer opened a second store in London, working with the American department store chain JC Penney and launched The Ginger Group, a line that was affordable for the masses.Loved geometric shapes, polka dots, color contrasts and playing with materials like PVC, Mary Quant encourages a playful fashion.”Coincidentally, my clothes fitted me perfectly to teenage fashion, to pop, to espresso bars and jazz clubs,” she commented in Quant by Quant, her first autobiography, published in 1965. ## “Right place, right time” “She was in the right place, at the right time,” explained Jenny Lister, curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which houses around 100 pieces – clothes, make-up, underwear, sewing patterns – by the designer in has in his collection. “She had an unabashed demeanor and was able to make headlines by speaking provocatively about sexuality and her personal life.” Most recently, Quant lived in Surrey, southern England, and rarely appeared in public. She had a son, Orlando, and three grandchildren. 2000 she sold her cosmetics company, whose logo, a flower, is still her trademark.When asked in the year of her 80th birthday, she admitted she had a certain nostalgia for “hectic and innovative” 1960s London, but said it was “It’s wonderful to be a woman these days.” “A new breed of superwoman has emerged,” she enthused in her autobiography. “They move like athletes and sit like men, with their knees apart. Their children take their mother’s name. (…) They are in control.”(AFP)