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Clothing design can have an enormous impact on culture.
A garment can change attitudes and empower those who wear it.
Dame Mary Quant knew this well.
The British fashion designer popularized the miniskirt and is often credited with inventing it.
Quant famously said, Good taste is death, and Vulgarity is life.
This perspectiveto push the envelope and defy social normsinspired her to break the mold of 1950s fashion.
She disliked the structured garments that were popular among fashion designers, which included nipped waists and voluminous skirts.
Quant felt they were too limiting, especially to young women during the second wave of feminism.
She opened up a London boutique named Bazaar, and it’s there she sold her designs.
Quant became a household name in the 1980s, particularly in the UK.
Her fame cemented her as an early fashion expert, long before the advent of social media influencers.
Vitally, Quants daring foray into miniskirts shows clothing as a vehicle for change.
Our outward expressions can reflect our inner changes and desires.
For wearers of the miniskirt, that meant freedom from stuffy norms expected of women at the time.
Of course, Quant innately understood this.
In a 1985 Thames TV interview, she said, Fashion is about life.
Its about everything…I think fashion anticipates.
It seems to get there first and everything unravels behind it.
She passed away on April 13, 2023, at the age of 93.
Quant famously said, Good taste is death, and Vulgarity is life.
This perspectiveto push the envelope and defy social normsinspired her to break the mold of 1950s fashion.
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Fashion is about life, she said.
Its about everything…I think fashion anticipates.
It seems to get there first and everything unravels behind it.
