Festival of Britain and Swinging London

From the optimism of 1951 to miniskirts, Habitat and the Mini: Britain became a centre of pop culture and design.

The Council of Industrial Design was founded in 1944 and organised the exhibition Britain Can Make It in 1946. The Festival of Britain in 1951 showed a modern style, with Robin Day's furniture and Lucienne Day's fabrics with patterns recalling molecules and plants. The Design Centre in London opened in 1956.

In the 1960s London became the centre of a youthful pop: Mary Quant's miniskirt, Biba and Terence Conran's Habitat. Alec Issigonis's Mini of 1959 and Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert's road signs made good design part of everyday life.