The hot fashion ticket in London this year is the Dior exhibition at the V&A, but I when I was looking for somewhere for a Birthday treat for my Mum, the quieter and smaller Mary Quant retrospective stood out to me as the one to book.
I didn’t know much about Mary Quant – and I was really pleasantly surprised how much more to her story there was than just the famous Sixties miniskirt. In fact, the show content is broader than just that period – covering from about 1955 to 1975 – and featuring fashion, make-up – and my personal favourite, the Daisy dolls.
Quant moved into the toy market in 1973 with Daisy, the ‘best-dressed doll in the world’. This enabled the next generation to connect with her brand, buying miniature versions of the designs for the jet-setting, independent doll. The launch at the Harrogate Toy Fair featured models dancing down the catwalk wearing life-size versions of Daisy’s wardrobe.
I loved these brightly coloured swinging rain capes – which came in yellow, pale pink, hot pink and orange. I’d wear one of these now.
Quant designed a range of these bold rain capes for Alligator Rainwear in a rainbow of the season’s ‘snappiest shades’. The paired-back and fun design in showerproof cotton canvas features slash pockets, a central zip front, metal studs and Quant’s signature colour contrast top stitching at the hem. The advertising proclaimed ‘Quant girls take shelter under this swinging cape’.
And getting a glimpse behind the scenes at the creative process was great – this storyboard featuring Quant’s make up products is ace.
At the heart of this collection though, are the stories of the women who wore Quant’s clothes – which were fun, accessible and gender-boundary pushing – at a time when women couldn’t even wear trousers into a restaurant. A lot of the pieces were sourced from the public, via a call-out from the V&A last year and there’s a charming video display of personal photographs and snippets about the pieces, from people that bought them, or their families.
The exhibition runs until February next year – so there’s plenty of time to go and see it. I’d highly recommend you do 🙂