Mary Quant, who made miniskirt popular, is dead

Mary Quant, the popular British fashion designer who introduced the use of miniskirts, is dead.

– Key points to note

Quant was 93. She died “peacefully” in her home in Surrey, UK this morning, the family said in a statement.

The statement described Quant as “one of the most internationally recognized fashion designers of the 20th century and an outstanding innovator”.

In 1964, Quant was inspired by other fashions she saw on the streets of London and she decided to raise the lower edge of her skirts to several inches above the knee. That led to the introduction of the famous miniskirt that is widely used by women all over of the world till date.

Quant named the fashion style after her favourite car as at then, “Mini Cooper”.

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She was born in 1930 in south-east London to two Welsh school teachers.

In trying to push her fashion brand forward in the 1960s, she searched for young customers in the streets of the UK who shared the same mentality as hers.

In her autobiography, Quant’s customers were described as those “tired of wearing the same as their mothers”.

In 2014, Quant said the fashion style is a “feeling of freedom and liberation”.

“It was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted,” she said.

“I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘shorter, shorter’ she added.

Quant explored her artistic talent at Goldsmith’s College in the 1950s where she acquired a diploma in art education.

Also, she met her husband, Alexander Plunket Greene, who later supported and established her brand.

Since the announcement of her death Thursday morning, many people have been sending condolences in social media, expressing their surprise.

The designer is survived by her son Orlando, three grandchildren and her brother Tony Quant.