Mary Quant, the iconic fashion designer, is the subject of my new header image and marks a move away from my normal views of paintings, sculpture and architecture. This area of display is moving very much into the world of art and its appreciation, and marks a new direction for me.

The Sixties was a great time to grow up and the arrival of the mini skirt in 1966 was one of the iconic moments that marked that decade. Mary Quant had already made a name for herself as early as 1955, challenging the establishment with her simple motifs and pinafore outfits evoking the flapper dresses of the twenties. Her straightforward approach appealed to a new generation breaking away from the heavily coutured designs of the existing fashion houses.

The Victoria and Albert Design Museum at Dundee is the location of this retrospective exhibition, which was in South Kensington last year. According to The Scotsman it is appropriate that the show’s delayed opening after lockdown was akin to Quant’s fun designs “heralding the end of the austerity of post war Britain.”

images courtesy of the V&A.