Quantum style

How designer Mary Quant launched a high-street and aesthetic revolution

From miniskirts and hot pants to vibrant tights and make-up, Mary Quant launched a fashion revolution on the British high street. A design and retail pioneer, she popularised super-high hemlines and a range of irreverent looks that became critical to the development of the Swinging Sixties scene. Her legacy is celebrated in Mary Quant, a major exhibition at the V&A in London, which opened on April 6 and runs until February 16, 2020.

Although Quant is often credited with creating the decade's most iconic look, the miniskirt, there's no conclusive evidence to say who first took hemlines a daringly long way north of the knee (French couturier André Courrèges is another possibility). Regardless, extremely short skirts and shift dresses became Quant's trademark, and were popularised by the era's most high-profile model, Twiggy, whose willowy figure helped turn ultra-short hemlines into an international trend.

Miniskirts and dresses were perfectly paired with Quant's tights and underwear range, one of the first lines produced using the Mary Quant name under licence. She also created the skinny-rib jumper (apparently inspired by trying on an eight-year-old's sweater for fun) and, in 1966, invented hot pants. Capitalising on the 1960s' love affair with new materials, she was one of the first designers to use PVC, creating wet-look clothes and different styles of weatherproof boots in her footwear range, Quant Afoot.