Mary Quant

Fashion At Play At The V&A

Thinking back to how Mary Quant unsheathed bodies from beige hosiery and long skirts, I’ll go out on an unshackled limb to say she almost singlehandedly brought freedom of movement and expression to fashion, as in the clothes we wear to run for the train or hop out of a truck. Who better than London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, holder of the largest public collection of Dame Mary Quant’s garments, to mount an exhibit that vibrates with Brit-quake—the fun kind when it meant Beatles, not Brexit?! Co-curator of the show, Stephanie Wood, fills us in on the designer who declared, “Good taste is death. Vulgarity is life.”

Gwynned Vitello: Can you describe the social and economic scene in London when Mary Quant emerged? This so-called Fashion Quake couldn’t have happened anywhere else, right?

S tephanie Wood: Mary Quant came out of gloomy, post-war Britain, with rationing still in place until 1954, and in many ways, her designs are a reaction against the drabness and austerity of the time. Her colorful and fun garments reflected the optimism of that period, with growing affluence and social mobility of young people benefiting from further education and higher wages. She revolutionized style for women, harnessing youth, street style and mass production and ultimately defined the spirit of the swinging ’60s.

What would you say she took away from art school, besides meeting her husband, who seemed to be a great influence?