Alice
Dress
1971 (designed)
1971 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dress was designed by Mary Quant for Ginger Group in about 1971. Mary Quant was one of the most iconic fashion designer of the 1960s. 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, which proved to be a great success. This dress is from Ginger Group, which Quant opened in 1963, selling pieces at a lower price-point, opening up her designs to a wider market. Quant quickly became a global brand and had particularly strong link with America.
The dress combines three different geometric prints. It has a fitted bodice and slightly flared skirt with large gatehred sleeves and waist tie. This dress has a label indicating it was sold at Marshall Fields & Co., an American company with stores in Chicago. It represents the international reach of Quant’s designs.
The dress combines three different geometric prints. It has a fitted bodice and slightly flared skirt with large gatehred sleeves and waist tie. This dress has a label indicating it was sold at Marshall Fields & Co., an American company with stores in Chicago. It represents the international reach of Quant’s designs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Title | Alice (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | cotton and wool mix (from label) |
| Brief description | 'Alice' dress, patterned with plummed sleeves, by Mary Quant for Ginger Group, Wales, Autumn/ Winter 1971 |
| Physical description | A dress designed by Mary Quant for Ginger Group, England 1971. The dress combines three different geometric prints. It has a fitted bodice and slightly flared skirt with voluminous plumed sleeves and waist bow. |
| Gallery label | [Mary Quant exhibition, 2019]
‘ALICE’
Autumn/Winter 1971
Mary Quant designs were popular in 1970s America. This dress was bought at the Chicago department store, Marshall Field. Made out of co-ordinated fine wool prints by Liberty, this versatile dress retailed for
£20 (about £150 today). On Decimal Day, 15 February 1971, guineas and shillings were finally abolished and replaced with the UK monetary system used today.
Liberty printed Varuna wool
Labelled ‘Mary Quant’s Ginger Group’
Made at the Steinberg factory, Pontypridd, Wales (probably)
V&A: T.84:1&2-2018
(30/03/2020) |
| Credit line | Purchase funded by the Lee Alexander McQueen Fund for Fashion |
| Object history | The dress was designed by Mary Quant for Ginger Group. The dress has an additonal label for Marshall Field & Company, an American company with shops in Chicago - indicating it was retailed there. |
| Summary | This dress was designed by Mary Quant for Ginger Group in about 1971. Mary Quant was one of the most iconic fashion designer of the 1960s. 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, which proved to be a great success. This dress is from Ginger Group, which Quant opened in 1963, selling pieces at a lower price-point, opening up her designs to a wider market. Quant quickly became a global brand and had particularly strong link with America. The dress combines three different geometric prints. It has a fitted bodice and slightly flared skirt with large gatehred sleeves and waist tie. This dress has a label indicating it was sold at Marshall Fields & Co., an American company with stores in Chicago. It represents the international reach of Quant’s designs. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.84-2018 |
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| Record created | January 5, 2018 |
| Record URL |
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