R.I.P Mary Quant

Last Thursday, it was announced the fashion designer, Mary Quant who had a massive influence in British fashion had died.

Mary was a number of things one being an early outstanding female entrepreneur opening her own store in the Kings Road, Chelsea, London and several others at an early age, that in an era a Woman could not get loans easily on her own.

Mary gave women their legs back having been covered up for a long period and shunted fashion as well award from elegant wear for grand social occasions to everyday life that allied itself with the growth of a younger market and things such as the "Mod" movement.

Her most famous creation was the Mini, as in a Mini skirt, something that liberating for women at the time and certainly as a sissy I am thankful for for showing more of our figures off rather than hiding it.

As she said, it named after her most loved automobile the Austin Mini, itself a design classic from 1959 which to gave freedom to many including younger women.

She and others who followed in her footsteps injected colour, experimentation with different materials such as pvc, got our hemlines up, gave us hotpants giving rise to "Swinging London".

Mary was awarded an O.B.E, Order of the British Empire in 1966 for services to fashion and here she is seen with it in a short skirted dress, clearly living a part of the life she sold to others.

By encouraging young and often female fashion students to get into retail, selling the clothes they knew their friends wanted she gave all of us more options and great chances to be ourselves.

That's why she merits an entry here.