Twiggy Lawson led the tributes to designer Dame Mary Quant, who passed away at the age of 93.
The fashion icon passed away “peacefully at home in Surrey” on Thursday, her family announced.
It is believed that Dame Mary popularized the miniskirts that helped define the swinging ’60s.
Twiggy, a fashion icon of the era, stated that Dame Mary had “such an impact on young girls in the late 1950s and early 1960s.”
She wrote on social media, “She revolutionized fashion and was a brilliant female entrepreneur.” Without her, the 1960s would not have been the same.
Alexandra Shulman, a former editor of Vogue, described Dame Mary as a “leader of fashion and female entrepreneurship” and a “visionary who was much more than a great haircut.”
The fashion director of the International New York Times, Vanessa Friedman, tweeted, “RIP Mary Quant, who liberated the female limb. We owe you.”
Her relatives referred to her as “one of the most internationally renowned fashion designers of the 20th century and an exceptional innovator.”
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“She opened her first store, Bazaar, on the King’s Road in 1955, and her visionary and innovative abilities quickly made a significant contribution to British fashion.”
The Victoria & Albert Museum stated, “Quant’s contribution to fashion cannot be overstated. She embodied the carefree spirit of 1960s fashion and served as a new role model for young women.
Today’s fashion attributes so much to her pioneering vision.
Dame Mary was one of the most influential figures in the 1960s fashion scene, and her sleek, streamlined, and vibrant designs are credited with making fashion accessible to the populace.
Dame Mary was born in south-east London on 11 February 1930 to Welsh educator parents.
She earned a certificate in art education from Goldsmiths College in the 1950s, where she also met her spouse Alexander Plunket Greene, who later helped her establish her brand.
As an aspiring fashion designer, Dame Mary served as an apprentice to a milliner before designing her own outfits and opening Bazaar on the King’s Road in Chelsea in 1955.
The store would become the center of London’s swinging scene. Bazaar sold clothing and accoutrements, and the restaurant in its basement served as a gathering place for young people and artists.
Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones were among the luminaries who flocked to the entire Chelsea neighborhood.