Quant, Mary (1934– )

English fashion designer, whose ‘Chelsea Girl’ look made London the fashion centre of the ‘swinging sixties’. She popularized the miniskirt, pioneered the concept of the boutique, and later built up a multinational empire selling her cosmetics.

Quant opened her first boutique, called Bazaar, in King's Road, Chelsea, London, in 1955. This was in partnership with her husband Alexander Plunket-Greene and photographer Archie McNair. In the 1970s she moved into cosmetics.

Born in Blackheath, London, Quant studied design at Goldsmith's College of Art. She then spent two years designing hats for a Danish milliner before opening Bazaar.

By 1967, she had opened two further boutiques in London and became internationally famous for the simplicity of her designs and her freedom of colour. In 1973 she was the focus of an exhibition – Mary Quant's London – at the Museum of London. In the 1970s she diversified into cosmetics, building up a large and lucrative international franchise business.

In 1966 she was created an OBE and published her autobiography Quant by Quant. In 1990, she won the British Fashion Council's Hall of Fame award.