More than 35,000 people have visited an exhibition about “trailblazing” fashion designer Dame Mary Quant since it opened in May, organisers have revealed.
Visitors have just over two weeks left to see the Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow before the show’s international tour comes to an end.
The exhibition from the V&A features more than 100 garments, accessories, cosmetics, and photographs drawn from its extensive collections, Dame Mary’s archive and many private collections.
Known for popularising the mini skirt and pioneering “wet collection” PVC rainwear, Dame Mary blazed a trail in women’s fashion in the 1960s.
She died in April this year aged 93.
Heather Tilbury Phillips, former director of Mary Quant Limited and adviser to the V&A on the exhibition, said: “What is impressive is that so many of today’s teenagers and young people have been overheard saying how much they would love to wear the clothes now.
“They seemed to us to be ground-breaking, even outrageous at the time, but they still have an enduring and contemporary appeal.
“Well over a million visitors worldwide have already enjoyed Dame Mary Quant’s contribution to those memorable years of 1955-1975, and the colourful exhibition is such fun and a fitting tribute to her revolutionary life.”
The exhibition opened in May and will close on Sunday October 22.
Bailie Annette Christie, chairwoman of Glasgow Life, which runs Kelvingrove, said: “Dame Mary Quant’s contribution to British fashion was trailblazing and, as you would expect, the response to the show has been truly heartening.
“Visitors have shared their joy on reliving wonderful, sometimes forgotten, memories, often with younger members of their family who weren’t around at the time.
“The V&A’s exhibition has also introduced an entirely new generation to Mary Quant’s incredible influence and legacy.
“With a little over two weeks until this wonderful exhibition closes, there’s still time to marvel at the style on show or treat yourself to another visit.”
A group of 75 undergraduates studying an HND in fashion design and manufacture at Glasgow Clyde College’s Cardonald campus were among those to visit in recent weeks.
Anne Wilson, a lecturer at the college, said: “Our students are taking inspiration from her enduring legacy as they strut their stuff on the catwalk of their own fashion journey”.
