On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Tights

1960s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Mary Quant’s first boutique, Bazaar, opened in London's King's Road in 1955, launching a successful fashion career. Her youthful easy-to-wear clothing became so popular that in 1963, she launched a lower-priced ready-to-wear range called 'Ginger Group'. She also entered into licensing agreements with manufacturers to produce hosiery, underwear, cosmetics and accessories bearing her name. Almost anyone, whatever their income, could spare the money to buy a pair of 'Mary Quant' stockings or a lipstick. This enabled girls who could not otherwise afford her clothing to feel in touch with fashion, and made Mary Quant a household name and a commercial success.

Her contribution to British life was marked by a retrospective exhibition at the London Museum in 1973. The exhibition included many of Quant's most revolutionary garments, some remade as facsimiles if original ones could not be found.

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read Knitted underwear Whether socks or swimwear, long johns or leggings, knitting has been as important to what we put on under our clothes as to the clothes themselves. Some of the earliest knitted items were underwear and the growth of the machine-knitting industry was based on underwear's popularity. Even on...
read Introducing Mary Quant Inventive, opinionated and commercially minded, Mary Quant (1930 – 2023) was the most iconic fashion designer of the 1960s. A design and retail pioneer, she popularised super-high hemlines and other irreverent looks that were critical to the development of the 'Swinging Sixties' scene. Our...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Tights
  • Stocking Box
Materials and techniques
Synthetic lace
Brief description
Tights, synthetic lace, Mary Quant, Great Britian, 1960s
Physical description
Tights of synthetic lace.
Credit line
Given by Valerie D. Mendes
Object history
Registered File number 1995/973.
Summary
Mary Quant’s first boutique, Bazaar, opened in London's King's Road in 1955, launching a successful fashion career. Her youthful easy-to-wear clothing became so popular that in 1963, she launched a lower-priced ready-to-wear range called 'Ginger Group'. She also entered into licensing agreements with manufacturers to produce hosiery, underwear, cosmetics and accessories bearing her name. Almost anyone, whatever their income, could spare the money to buy a pair of 'Mary Quant' stockings or a lipstick. This enabled girls who could not otherwise afford her clothing to feel in touch with fashion, and made Mary Quant a household name and a commercial success.

Her contribution to British life was marked by a retrospective exhibition at the London Museum in 1973. The exhibition included many of Quant's most revolutionary garments, some remade as facsimiles if original ones could not be found.
Collection
Accession number
T.705-1995

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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