Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary

Overview

It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior and Mary Quant.
    -    Ernestine Carter

Bendigo Art Gallery presents Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, a retrospective exhibition on the iconic British fashion designer Dame Mary Quant. Running from now until July 11 2021.

Bendigo is the exclusive Australian venue for this exhibition from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibition explores the years between 1955 and 1975, when Mary Quant revolutionised the high street, harnessing the youthful spirit of the sixties and new mass production techniques to create a new look for women. Drawing on the V&A’s extensive fashion holdings, Dame Mary Quant’s Archive and private collections, the exhibition brings together over 110 garments as well as accessories, cosmetics, sketches, photographs and even Quant’s own line of fashion dolls, known as Daisy dolls, a rival to Barbie.

Quant personified the energy and fun of swinging London and was a powerful role model for the working woman. Challenging conventions, she popularised the miniskirt, colourful tights and tailored trousers – encouraging a new age of feminism. 

Ahead of her time in marketing and promotion, Quant herself was the embodiment of the label. Her distinctive, photogenic style and playful energy made her the ultimate ambassador for the brand. From small boutique to international label, Quant revolutionised fashion with energy, flair and rebellion. Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary provides an unrivalled insight into the career of one of Britain’s most revolutionary and important fashion designers.

View the Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary guide here.

To celebrate the Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, our city of Bendigo has incorporated it’s love of great food & wine, fashion, and beautiful heritage streets by transforming into a colourful, retro 60s, British celebration of all that Mary Quant stood for.

Search through Quant accommodation and experience packages below.                                                                  

An exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Image credit: Mary Quant, 1964. © Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo