V&A Dundee upcoming Mary Quant exhibition will feature ‘PVC rainwear’ and ‘jute miniskirt’
The event of the season is coming up… tickets are on sale for V&A Dundee’s first major fashion exhibition, Mary Quant.
Running from April 4 to September 6, the exhibition will be the first international retrospective on the iconic British designer who rose to fame by capturing the spirit of London in the 1960s.
Mary Quant, one of the leading lights of the British fashion scene in the 1960’s, having her hair cut by another fashion icon, hairdresser Vidal Sassoon.
Encouraging a new age of feminism, Mary Quant made quality designer fashion affordable and challenged the conventional gender stereotypes of post-war Britain.
Key objects featured within the exhibition, which explores the years between 1955 and 1975, include the pioneering ‘Wet Collection’ PVC rainwear, a jute miniskirt, and designs that playfully subverted menswear at a time when women were still banned from wearing trousers in formal settings such as restaurants.
British fashion designer Mary Quant pictured selecting rolls of fabric from a fabric store and warehouse in London to create samples for a future collection in 1967.
Also featured will be the stories of women who made outfits from Mary Quant’s dressmaking patterns, gathered through V&A Dundee’s #SewQuant campaign.
Sophie McKinlay, Director of Programme at V&A Dundee, said: “Mary Quant is a pioneering designer who achieved so much, from capturing the spirit of change in the 1960s, to empowering women to wear clothes that looked good and felt good, to creating a powerful brand that encompassed everything from footwear to homeware.
“For V&A Dundee this is the perfect choice for our first major fashion exhibition, as Mary Quant’s designs are still daring and exciting, and she remains a highly relevant designer who continues to inspire contemporary creativity.”
Jenny Lister, co-curator of Mary Quant at the V&A, said: “This long-overdue exhibition will show how Mary Quant’s brand connected with her customers, how she made designer fashion affordable for working women, and how her youthful, revolutionary clothes, inspired by London’s creative scene, made British streetstyle the global influence it remains today.”
Stephanie Wood, co-curator of Mary Quant at the V&A, said: “The timing couldn’t be more perfect to celebrate the trailblazing career of a woman who was, and still remains, a role model for women.
“Mary Quant was the influencer of her time with a revolutionary approach to branding and marketing.”
Mary Quant (foreground), with models showing her new shoe creations.
Mary Quant was curated by Jenny Lister and Stephanie Wood of the V&A and shown at V&A South Kensington from April 6 2019 to February 16 2020.
Tickets for Mary Quant can be purchased at the following link.
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