Sunday Arts Magazine

15 Mar 2021

Mary Quant Exhibition- Bendigo Art Gallery

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Mary Quant Exhibition- Bendigo Art Gallery

The queen of the miniskirt, colourful tights and tailored trousers, Mary Quant personified the energy and fun of swinging 60s and was a powerful role model for working women – encouraging a new age of feminism.

Always challenging conventions, Quant inspired young women to rebel against the traditional dress of their mothers and grandmothers, turning her tiny London boutique into a wholesale global brand, making fashion less exclusive and more accessible to a new generation.

This brilliantly colourful exhibition comes direct from a sell-out season at London’s revered Victoria & Albert Museum, and explores the years between 1955 and 1975, when Quant revolutionised the high street, harnessing the youthful spirit of the sixties and new mass production techniques to create a modern new look for women.

Drawn from Mary Quant’s own archive as well as the V&A’s extensive fashion holdings, which include the largest public collection of Quant garments in the world, the exhibition brings together over 110 garments as well as accessories, cosmetics, sketches and photographs.

Many of the star objects featured in the exhibition come directly from a public call-out by the V&A to find rare garments and collect personal stories from the real women who wore Quant clothes. The results of the WeWantQuant social media campaign, which received over 800 responses, demonstrates the scale of Quant’s impact on fashion and her vital role in pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable for women to wear.