On 13 April 2023, Dame Mary Quant passed away. Given her immense legacy in the fashion world, this is an incredibly sad moment. However, we are lucky in some ways- we have countless sources, surviving garments, and even her autobiography.
As I’ve shared in my V&A Fashion Perspectives post, autobiographies can be an invaluable source for the fashion historian. Clothing and garments aren’t designed in a vacuum, they are influenced by the designer’s life and relationships. And although we might point to certain events as being crucial for a designer’s trajectory, that designer might see it differently. And that is no different for the youthful Mary Quant! Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on Mary Quant’s Quant by Quant, her autobiography that was originally published in 1966. Quant is the creator of the 1960s “Chelsea Look”, and the widespread adoption of the mini-skirt and hot pants.
If you think that Mary Quant’s name sounds vaguely familiar, it is probably because the Victoria and Albert Museum just staged an exhibition on her designs! (It sadly opened just after I left the UK, so I did not have a chance to catch this one with the Dior exhibition like most people did.) She had a fascinating life, and started her design career at an incredibly young age (in her early 20s). One of the things that fascinates me the most about Quant is that she didn’t set out to be a designer, like many other do. (Nowadays, it seems like most designers attend one of a handful of schools, and then make their way up the ranks.) I was excited to read Quant by Quant, and get a feeling for the designer through her own perspective. So, what did I think of one of fashion’s youngest disrupters?
Quant by Quant, Mary Quant
The autobiography of Mary Quant—the inventor of the miniskirt—was originally published in 1966 at the height of Swinging London. After opening her groundbreaking boutique Bazaar on London’s King’s Road in 1955, Quant soared to international fame with her brand of witty style that fitted perfectly with modern city life. She was at the forefront of fashion’s democratization—seeking to eliminate snobbery and “make fashionable clothes available to everyone.” Her joyful, evocative autobiography captures the world in which she found inspiration—and which she ultimately helped to define and change.
Quant By Quant Review
Overall, this was a roller coaster of a read for me. It is quite a fun and exciting book to read. Quant and her friends living their best lives in London in the Swinging Sixties? One of the most radical periods in modern history, it didn’t fail to deliver. You can feel their youth and their excitement when you read it. It is easy to think “Why is a mini-skirt so exciting?” in the twenty-first century, but it was daring and different in the ’60s. Fashion changes at the speed of light in the twenty-first century, but in the 1960s, fashion was much slower. We didn’t have new drops of clothing weekly but a few new collections throughout the year. Quant’s approach to fashion was revolutionary in so many ways.
I’ve read some articles on Quant, and I think that this autobiography does a much better job of evoking her spirit and ethos- it is much easier to do in your own words. You also get to know her friends without feeling lost if you don’t recognise a name- she is wonderful at introducing you to someone and showing why they are important in her story.
However, it was also a somewhat difficult read. There are no chapters or divisions- it is a stream-of-consciousness autobiography. As someone who likes to stop at chapter breaks, it was quite a difficult read in that regard. On the one hand, it does give you that exuberance of everything being so exciting that you simply cannot stop. On the other hand, it can make it hard to follow or make sense of any sort of timeline. And like many other autobiographies, it does fall into the trap of being a product of when it was written. Being that it was written in 1966, it is actually set quite early in Quant’s career. I would have loved to be able to read her thoughts on her long career, or even look at her early career with more behind her. In any case, it very much felt like we stopped in the middle of the story. (I can understand the V&A wanted to publish them as is, but it might have been useful to include a small “after this” piece to continue the story.) Still absolutely worth reading, but I would recommend going in knowing her full story. (I also have a sneaking suspicion that we will be seeing a full-length biography of Quant in the next few years.)
If you would like to know more on the V&A Fashion Perspective series that includes the autobiographies of Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaparelli, head to my post here!
Want to know my thoughts on Norman Hartnell’s Silver and Gold? You can find my review here!
Have you read Quant by Quant?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
I love reading through an autobiography and hearing about the events from that person’s perspective. We can all stand on the outside, looking in, and come to our own conclusions about a person’s journey. However, only one person truly knows what was going through their mind at the time.
Autobiographies are truly a unique genre, and although they don’t always share what you wanted to know, they share what THEY wanted you to know. I think that is quite important!