The appearance of the miniskirt was considered to be another revolutionary act, one of the many in the ’60s. The miniskirt liberated woman and gave the first “strokes” in men.
The conservative spirits reacted strongly at first, but in the end they gave in to the new trend. Even Greek dictatorship tried, through Pattakos, to ban the miniskirt, but very quickly they recognized thar their attempt was vain. The miniskirt had become a status.
Miniskirt was not actually discovered in the ’60s. Women that wear miniskirts also existed in Ancient Sparta, Greece, in tribes of China and Africa since medieval times. Some fashion historians also include the glorious greek fustanella in the miniskirt category.
In 1926 American singer Josephine Baker dared to appear in a Paris club with a hot miniskirt made of bananas. In the 1950s, one could see women with miniskirts in science fiction films, tennis courts and skating rinks. Miniskirts were also worn by dancers and cheerleaders.
The invention of the miniskirt is tied to the English designer and businesswoman Mary Quant. Quad owned the “Bazaar” boutique in Chelsea, London and from the late 1950s she began experimenting with the length of the skirt.
The release of the miniskirt is considered to be in July 10, 1964, when the 30-year-old Quant presented her first complete collection of mini skirts and created a great fuss in the fashion world. The name “mini” comes from her favorite car, mini-Cooper.
Quant’s pursuit was to make a practical and at the same time liberating clothing for the woman, “allowing them to run to catch the bus.”
She recognizes that mini was actually discovered by her costumers. “They came to the shop for a fitting and they asked me to make the skirt shorter.” The paternity of the miniskirt has also been claimed by two other designers, Frenchman Andre Kurrez and the Englishman John Beitz.
In the 1970s the fashion industry returned to long dresses, midis and maxis, but since the mid-1980s the miniskirt made a dynamic come back.
The only thing that challenges its domination nowadays is the “hot pants”, created by Mary Quant in the 1960s.
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