Designs for optimistic ’80s Mary Quant still has flair

Press, 6 July 1983, Page 9

Designs for optimistic ’80s Mary Quant still has flair

“The 80s feel good. There is a positive mood about again. “People seem alive, confident, young, forward-think-ing and creative again,” says Mary Quant. “Everybody looks as though they know who they are and what they want. “They look healthy — their skin, their body, their whole appearance reflects this. People are modern and demanding.” Mary Quant, fashion leader of the sixties, remains an innovator. She views women in a very different role from when she designed for them in the revolutionary 60s. Mary says: “Today women want to look beautiful and interesting — but that chic must be combined with quality and price. Today’s woman imposes this attitude in her total lifestyle — in the way she dresses, makes-up. lives, decorates her home, cooks, works, spends her free time — all the things she engages in. “She no longer wishes to be slotted into an age bracket. It is her approach to life that makes her what she is. “When getting dressed and made-up in the mornings, she wants to know that whatever she wears, she will look terrific for the rest of the day. If she goes out in the evenings, all she wants to do is make a quick change, but look very different from her daytime look.”

With these points in mind Mary Quant has just launched her autumn winter ’B4, multi-faceted collection of separates for the European market. It is chic, comfortable, and sophisticated, with none of the geometric minis and stripes that made her famous. Her new collection is designed to look good on the city slicker and the country rover. Her fabrics range from tweeds to jersey fabrics. ’ Shapes range from Japan-

ese-inspired track suits to Noel Coward dressing gowns with pants. Her Deuville jackets look great with a long, straight skirt split in the back to the knee.

Chelsea kick pleat skirts are worn with reefer jackets, and her big-big shirt is designed to look right with bags. She has even designed a smokin’ suit after Henry Higgins, in a fluffy jersey. Colours and Mary Quant are synonymous. The success of her cosmetics has proved this for many years,

with new, inventive shades appearing every season. Although she does not manufacture any products herself, she works with the best in their field. She spends much of her time seeking technical and marketing expertise. Mary Quant is continually injecting new life and colour into the design scene. “People want evolution rather than change. They want to be stimulated and refreshed,” she says. “Surprise is a vital element in any successful design. I like a mixture of

scale and patterns mixing the bold with the delicate, the tailored with the romantic.” During the past 10 years, Mary Quant has made inroads into interior life-style design. She has brought subtle co-ordination and colour to products such as sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases, curtains, wall paper, blinds upholstery fabrics, towels, carpets, tablecloths and napkins. She has also designed ranges of kitchen accessories. One of her more recent

innovations was to launch her “Mary Quant at home” in the United States. This package is a broad range of household products, all made by a dozen manufacturers in the United States. Twenty-three designs in seven colourways, have been incorporated into products, including china, bathroom accessories, lamps and shades, candleholders, decorative tinware and stationery. Few international designers have covered as many design areas as Mary Quant and remained at the

top of their fields. She started in 1955 and now, in 1983, is as much in demand as in her golden decade. “Being a designer is a little like being a master chef. Each season you create a feast for the eye, a visual delight to whet the appetite for something refreshing or different — yet easy to wear or live with” explains Mary Quant.