QUANT

UK, 2021, 86 minutes, Colour.

Camilla Rutherford.

Directed by Sadie Frost.

Perhaps Mary Quant can be considered quintessentially British with her distinctive fashion sense moving from the 50s and highly influencing the 1960s, easy clothes for the ordinary woman, the miniskirt, and further developments in fashion as well as in cosmetics.

Here is a biography, a portrait, a tribute, directed by actress Sadie Frost.

It is a delving into Britain’s past, Mary Quant born in 1930, the heritage of World War I, the experience of World War II, the development of her interest in fashion, the move away from more formal styles, her interest in ordinary clothes. And, of course, she achieved some notoriety with the introduction of the miniskirt (though there is mention in the film of a French designer, Andre Courreges, earlier creating it), with the publicity of model such as Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy.

So, there is background to her family, growing up, influences, her work, the establishment of the shop in Kings Road, Chelsea, its popularity, and encouragement to her work in design.

The film also presents her relationship with Alexander Plunkett-Greene who promoted her work. He died in 1990, a 33 year long marriage, with one son who also gives his testimony about his mother and father. And, there is a great deal of footage of the time showing Mary and Alexander and their work together.

In 1966, Mary Quant won awards for the dress of the year as well is getting an OBE. However, it was not till 2015, with Mary at the age of 85, being appointed Dame by the Queen.

There is a great deal of footage from the various periods, discussions about business acumen and developments, the extension of the Quant Empire to cosmetics. And, for those who enjoy fashion, quite a number of contributions by people like Vivienne Westwood, Kate Moss, Jasper Conran.

While this documentary could be enjoyed by a wide audience, it is very much a specialist film for fashion aficionados.