The 1960s saw a rise in student activism, mass protests, feminism, and of course, hemlines. A British designer called Mary Quant is largely credited as the pioneer of the miniskirt. Along with model Twiggy, Quant started pushing the boundaries of what was deemed appropriate in the early '60s when she raised the hemline of skirts to roughly six inches above the knee. Quant christened the short skirts "minis" after her favorite type of car. And by the late '60s, American women across all walks of life were bearing much more leg than they had dared to in the past.
"The miniskirt was an extraordinary phenomenon and had a big impact because it was part of the emerging youth culture of the 1960s and it was very much an expression of that youth culture and also of the beginnings of the sexual liberation movement due to the invention of the birth control pill," said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT. "So it was kind of a historic moment."
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Although wildly popular, the rebellious item of clothing wasn’t accepted by everyone and created much controversy. As the BBC reported, “Pioneer feminist Betty Friedan saw miniskirts as sexist symbols or little doll outfits that hampered serious pursuits. On the other hand, the American feminist Gloria Steinem argued that sporting a miniskirt was a transgressive act and she wore them to rallies.” Iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel also called the miniskirt “just awful.”
While the mini fast became an activist statement and symbol of women’s liberation, the designer behind its popularity later revealed that wasn’t her initial intention. “I didn’t set out to shock,” said Quant. “I wanted to be able to move around, go to work, go out in the evening to somewhere where I could dance half the night away.”
“Middle age business men would beat on the window and shout ‘It’s obscene, it’s disgusting.’ Extraordinary, isn’t it!” Quant once remarked during an interview with British Vogue.
Quant might not have set out to shock, but that's exactly what she ended up doing. Miniskirts were banned in certain places, and some countries even made it illegal to wear them. "Miniskirts were blamed for corrupting the morality of youth, for deteriorating women’s health, and for destroying women’s feminine charms and respectability," reported the Saturday Evening Post.
"High schools across the country banned the style, claiming that the short lengths led to a 'distraction' among fellow students, and employers sought to prohibit their workers from wearing minis to the office."
The controversy around the miniskirt extended beyond those who wore it. To this day, debate rages on about who the true “inventor” was. While Quant popularized rising hemlines in Britain, French designer André Courrèges had also begun experimenting with skirt lengths in the '60s. He showcased his above-the-knee space-age dresses in 1964.
The two designers previously both laid claim to being the miniskirt's pioneer. And Quant once tried to put the debate to bed by saying “It wasn’t me or Courrèges who invented the miniskirt anyway—it was the girls in the street who did it.” But, as Bored Panda found out, history shows that she was wrong...
