There are so many new openings to get excited about in Bendigo this year
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In 1955, Mary Quant opened her dress shop, Bazaar, on the Kings Road in Chelsea. Her youthful, vibrant aesthetic was in sharp contrast to drab postwar London, and her work encouraged women to break free of the styles worn by their mothers and grandmothers.
By 1963, Quant’s designs were being sold in British department stores and internationally – she made fashion fun and accessible to the masses. As London became the hotbed of popular culture in mid-1960s, Mary Quant’s flourishing lifestyle brand came to represent ‘Mod’ and the swinging ’60s era.
Miniskirts, hotpants, jersey dresses, alligator rainwear, Crimplene – all the items of any self-respecting tennybopper’s wardrobe issued forth from Quant’s atelier and into the popular consciousness. And now, 60 years later, an exciting exhibition of more than 110 garments and items from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London is coming to the Bendigo Art Museum from March 20 to July 11.
Covering the years 1955 to 1975, Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary is an Australian exclusive and a fabulous excuse to make the two-hour trip up the M79 or V Line to Bendigo. The city is getting into the swinging spirit of the exhibition in various ways – here are five groovy reasons to go along...
