Mary Quant is one of Britain’s most well-known and influential designers. Along with her husband, Alexander Plunket Greene and business partner Archie McNair, she opened her first boutique, Bazaar, on the King’s Road in 1955. She originally stocked clothes from wholesalers but soon became frustrated with the options available and began designing her own clothes. In 1963 she set up the Ginger Group label. Through the Ginger Group she sold pieces at a lower price point than at Bazaar, making her designs available to a wider market. In 1964 she went into business with the Nylon Hosiery Company to create a very successful line of socks, stockings and tights and in 1965 started a collaboration with Alligator Rainwear Ltd. She later expanded into cosmetics and homeware, creating one of the first international lifestyle brands. In many parts of Europe, North America, Australia, and by the 1970s, Japan, almost anyone, whatever their income, could spare the money to buy a pair of 'Mary Quant' tights 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.

Many of Mary Quant's designs echoed the 1960s trend for satirising and subverting Victorian institutions and customs. The furnishing fabrics destigned by the quintessentially English designer, William Morris, were reproduced in the 1960s for use in the home but were crafted into flamboyant tailored jackets for men by counter-cultural brands, particularly Granny takes a Trip of the King's Road. Here, Mary Quant adapts this style, typically using a minimal, two-colour print, for a neat but striking suit for a woman. William Morris registered the 'Marigold' pattern in 1875 and it was printed on wallpaper and fabrics. 'Marigold' continues to be a popular pattern for home decoration, into the 21st century.