Quantum leap for fashion
Museum pays homage to designer Mary
COSTA ‘It-girl’ Karina Woodford returned to London for a chance to turn back time and visit the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Mary Quant exhibition – now on show until February 2020.
A resident of Teulada Moraira, she said the tribute to the Swinging Sixties and its queen of fashion was “beautiful” and “really well done”.
As Karin Jensen, she modelled Quant collections between 1966 and 1970 before finally ‘retiring’ as a model in 1975 after the birth of her second child.
Karina was invited to a special preview of the show as a former Quant girl and took along son Harry as her ‘plus one’ and met up with former colleagues to reminisce about a time when London eclipsed the world as the capital of fashion, music and art.
It was a time when the ‘children of the revolution’ were bathed in a rainbow of colour and models, artists and musicians all rubbed shoulders – a friend of Karina’s dated Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, while she went out with Beatle George Harrison for a time – he later married Pattie Boyd, another model and face of the sixties.
Karina said it was a reunion of all things Quant, with people who had lent Mary’s iconic designs to the V&A also on the guest list. “When I arrived there was a queue outside onto Cromwell Road and banks of photographers... Harry has never been to anything like it; it was absolutely great.
“We went inside and I was tapped on the shoulder by two people I used to work with – they actually recognised me after all that time.”
Karina worked with model Kari Anne Muller on the first Miss Selfridge poster and was reunited with her friend at the reception and her husband, one Chris Jagger – younger brother of Rolling Stone Mick.
“Harry and Chris were laughing and joking - Harry thought it was tremendous fun. Later I saw him chatting to a very attractive brunette; I asked who it was, he used to have a holiday job renting out sunbeds at Moraira, and it was a girl who recognised him...it’s such a small world!”
Mary Quant, now 89, is not enjoying the best of health and missed the launch. Karina said: “Sadly, Mary was not there and also missed the fashion shoot for the Daily Mail last month.
“She was represented by her son Orlando; I said I was sorry his mum was not there, he said she couldn’t have coped with all the fuss.”
At the reception, Karina was invited to appear the same evening on The One Show. Unfortunately, her flight back to Spain was booked the same afternoon.
She did have her picture taken outside the BBC and added: “They had four or five other Quant models; I did see it later on catch up – in a way I was pleased I didn’t appear, television makes you look so much older!”
Karina said the exhibition was “beautifully done” and took people back to the designs of “another era” – also recommending a visit to the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey and its current show ‘Swinging London’, featuring Mary Quant and Terrence Conran designs.
She also admired a hardback of Mary Quant’s work – there are pictures of Karina and friends inside as well as some of their favourite designs. “It was a lovely book but a little expensive; Harry spoiled me and bought it as a birthday present.”