A singular pioneer of 1960s fashion, Mary Quant popularized looks that were integral to the iconic ‘Swinging Sixties’ image. After being refused by her parents to undertake a fashion course, Quant studied illustration at Goldsmiths and graduated in 1953 with a degree in art education. Upon graduation, Quant’s beau and future husband, Alexander Plunket Greene, purchased Markham House on the King’s Road in Chelsea. This area of London was home to a group of young artists and socialites termed the ‘Chelsea Set.’ This set, defined by such alternative subcultures as the Beatniks and Mods influenced the development of Quant’s aesthetic and the ideals it would come to embody.

On the ground floor of Markham House, Quant, Plunket Greene, and their photographer-friend, Archie McNair, opened a boutique called Bazaar. Frustrated with the clothes available on the wholesale market (with which she previously stocked the boutique), Quant began stocking Bazaar with her own designs. Her first collections were remarkably simple and wearable, in contrast to other clothing on the market; and mini skirts and shift dresses soon became her trademark.

Bazaar was not only one of the few shops in London then offering super-high hemlines and other unabashedly bold new looks; but it provided an entirely different shopping experience to anywhere else in the mainstream market. Bazaar had a ‘scene’ all its own, fueled by music, drinks and extended opening hours that kept it open late into the evening. By 1967, Quant owned three shops throughout London. Her functional pieces, and the uniquely modern and free-spirited lifestyle they’ve come to embody, continue to define the image of youth culture.