Peachy thumbnail 1
Peachy thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Peachy

Dress
1962 (made)
Artist/Maker
Quant, Mary (designer)
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

Now one of the earliest works by Mary Quant in the V&A's collection, this shift illustrates how she broke with convention and made clothes specifically for young customers. Its donor identified the work ("my scarlet runner") as "a seminal dress at the beginning of a new and still, to me, exciting decade". Until the beginning of the 1960s youth quake, daughters had no alternative but to dress like their mothers. In tune with the times, Mary Quant offered them identities of their own with styles such as this vivid red shift with youthful appeal.


Object details

Categories
Fashion
Womenswear
London
Ready-to-Wear
Object type
Dress
TitlePeachy (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Wool tweed
Tweed
Brief description
'Peachy' pinafore dress, red wool tweed with centre-front pleat, designed by Mary Quant, London, 1962
Physical description
Red sleeveless wool tweed dress with a round neck and a pleat at the centre front of the skirt.
Marks and inscriptions
'MARY / QUANT / LONDON' (Woven label, black on yellow.)
Gallery label
  • [Mary Quant exhibition, 2019] ‘PEACHY’ 1962 Worn by Margaret Stewart Fitted at the top with a knee-length skirt fanning out into sunray pleats, this was one of Quant’s most successful early designs. Available in coloured tweeds, like soft pink and bright yellow, it transformed the prim grey school-pinafore into a smart, multipurpose dress, wearable from morning until night. Margaret Stewart’s husband called her Peachy dress the Scarlet Runner because it was so reliable. Wool tweed Labelled ‘Mary Quant London’ Made in London (probably) Given by Margaret Stewart V&A: T.27-1997(30/03/2020)
  • Now one of the earliest works by Mary Quant in the V&A's collection, this shift illustrates how she broke with convention and made clothes specifically for young customers. Its donor identified the work ("my scarlet runner") as "a seminal dress at the beginning of a new and still, to me, exciting decade". Until the beginning of the 1960s youth quake, daughters had no alternative but to dress like their mothers. In tune with the times, Mary Quant offered them identities of their own with styles such as this vivid red shift with youthful appeal.(1997)
Credit line
Worn and given by Mrs Margaret Stewart
Object history
Image held in the Mary Quant Archive of Mary Quant wearing 'Peachy' dress design while unpacking her JC Penney collection at the British Embassy, Washington D.C., 27 September, 1962.

This image was included in Mary Quant publication, 2019, p.111

Image courtesy Mary Quant Archive
Historical context
Owner Margaret Stewart identified this work as "my scarlet runner" and said that it was "a seminal dress at the beginning of a new and still, to me, exciting decade."
Summary
Now one of the earliest works by Mary Quant in the V&A's collection, this shift illustrates how she broke with convention and made clothes specifically for young customers. Its donor identified the work ("my scarlet runner") as "a seminal dress at the beginning of a new and still, to me, exciting decade". Until the beginning of the 1960s youth quake, daughters had no alternative but to dress like their mothers. In tune with the times, Mary Quant offered them identities of their own with styles such as this vivid red shift with youthful appeal.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.27-1997

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Record createdSeptember 2, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O83944/peachy-dress-quant-mary/
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