Miniskirt
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Minirock_(Lack)_Model_Dani_2.jpg
Miniskirt.jpg
The miniskirt is a skirt whose hemline is way above the knees (generally 200–300 mm above knee-level). Its existence is generally credited to the fashion designer Mary Quant, who was inspired by the Mini Cooper automobile, although André Courrèges is also often cited as its inventor, and there is disagreement as to who got there first.
Recently, Marit Allen, a Vogue "Young Ideas" editor at the time, has stated "John Bates, in particular, has always been completely unappreciated for his contribution to the innovation and creativity he brought to the London design scene." He bared the midriff, used transparent vinyl and, Marit Allen asserts, was responsible for "the raising of the hemline. It was John Bates, rather than Mary Quant or Courrèges, who was responsible for the miniskirt." Bates' costumes and accessories for Diana Rigg in "The Avengers" define "Mod style." [1] (http://www.sugarzine.com/site_08.03/fashion.html).
Mary Quant ran a popular clothes shop on Chelsea, London's Kings Road called Bazaar, from which she sold her own designs. In the late 1950s she began experimenting with shorter skirts, which resulted in the miniskirt in 1960—one of the defining fashions of the decade.
Owing to Quant's position in the heart of fashionable "Swinging London", the miniskirt was able to spread beyond a simple street fashion into a major international trend.
The miniskirt was further popularised by the French designer André Courrèges, who developed it separately and incorporated it into his Mod look, for spring/summer 1965. His miniskirts were less body-hugging, worn with the white "Courrèges boots" that became a trademark. By introducing the miniskirt into the haute couture of the fashion industry, Courrèges gave it a greater degree of respectability than might otherwise have been expected of a street fashion.
In the United Kingdom, the increasing interest in the miniskirt in the 1960s necessitated a change in the way skirts were taxed. Previously, skirts were taxed by length, with the miniskirt qualifying as tax-exempt by effectively being a child's length.
The miniskirt was followed up in the mid-1960s by the even shorter micro skirt, which covers not much more than the intimate parts with the underpants. It has often been derogatorily referred to as a belt. Subsequently, the fashion industry largely returned to longer skirts such as the midi and the maxi. However, miniskirts remain popular.
Around the turn of the 21st century the micro has been reworked as an even less substantial skirtbelt which more evokes the idea of a skirt than it covers anything much except perhaps also providing rhythm for the hipline. Miniskirts are also seen worn over trousers or jeans, or with strap-on trouser "leggings" that provide coverage of each leg from above the knee.
Further reading
- Mary Quant, Quant on Quant (1966).de:Minirock