Miniskirt Designer Mary Quant Dead at 93

Mary Quant, a British designer who revolutionized fashion and is credited with making miniskirts popular, is dead.

Mary died peacefully Thursday at her home in Surrey, in southern England ... according to her family.

She's famous for designing colorful and sexy miniskirts that defined the swinging '60s, as well as tights that went along with them, helping make fashion accessible to the masses with her simple, mix-and-match designs.

Mary started making her own clothes way back in 1955, when she opened her first boutique called Bazaar on London's famous King's Road, in the heart of Chelsea, and it was an instant hit ... ultimately making the area the epicenter of British fashion.

Within a decade, Mary was a global brand ... she had a fashion line at J.C. Penney, her own makeup, a doll, and boutiques in New York department stores. When she came to the United States, she needed police protection because she was treated like a fifth member of The Beatles.

Mary was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1966 for helping British exports with $20 million in sales ... and in 2009 she was honored with her own Royal mail postage stamp, featuring a model wearing a black Mary Quant miniskirt.

She was 93.