New Year Honours list: How Dame Mary Quant changed the face of fashion

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Champion of the miniskirt Dame Mary Quant has been appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the New Year Honours list. Born in London to Welsh parents in 1930, Quant grew up in an age of austerity – but her designs were an antidote to this, championing fun, frivolity and women’s liberation. Unlike many of the more traditional fashion houses, Quant wasn’t catering for the old elite – instead, she encapsulated exactly what it was like to be a young woman in the 1960s. Mary Quant became the template for the modern lifestyle brand Nowadays, the fashion industry loves a bit of nostalgia – whether it’s bringing back chokers from the Nineties or flares from the Seventies.