Mary Quant’s groundbreaking designs didn’t stop at fashion. She re-imagined the world of dolls when she created Daisy, a play on the brand’s logo.
The Daisy doll was not only high-fashion, she was also firmly intended to be played with. Self-professed as ‘The Best Dressed Doll in the World,’ her marketing reflected the playfulness of the main Quant brand, using bright colors and irreverent names for the doll’s fashions.
The outfits were illustrated in a bold contemporary style by the illustrator Joan Corlass, and retouched by Ralph Cade. These modern drawings had a resonance with popular British cartoons of the era, such as Crystal Tipps and Alistair, Roobarb and Custard, and of course The Yellow Submarine.
Highly graphic drawings were intended to suggest the spirit and pattern of the outfits, rather than accurately replicating them. A flattened perspective paid no heed to how the garments would drape, or the way fabrics would actually follow the form of the figure beneath. Patterns were shown, unbroken, as solid areas – this is particularly apparent in the case of checks and stripes (see Whiz Kid and Honey Bun below).
There follows a sampling of some of Daisy’s outfits as published at the time. The name of each outfit is shown within the illustration.
There’s much more to find out about Mary Quant and Daisy Dolls on The Bold Doll, click on the links.
2 Comments
Ralph Cade · October 14, 2022 at 6:02 am
These Daisy Doll illustrations were retouched by myself the originals were by Joan Corlass
thebolddoll · October 16, 2022 at 10:41 am
Hi Ralph, Thank you very much for this helpful information. I’ll update the text now. Much appreciated!