Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes

As a teenager I well remember Zandra Rhodes unconventional and well beyond my means clothing.  I longed to walk through the small market town where I lived in one of her creations.  It’s a pity I was both poor and shy.  Looking once again at her work it amazes me that what I liked all those years ago still looks wonderful.  Then it was the overall effect of the clothing that appealed to me today it is more an appreciation of the work of a multi skilled artist.

Rhodes was born in 1940 the daughter of a fitter for the House of Worth in Paris. Her mother was a flamboyant figure and brought Zandra up to value the different and off beat. Rhodes became interested in printed textile design and studied at Medway College and the Royal College of Art in London.

Rhode’s designs were considered outrageous and because she found it hard to get anyone to manufacture them she decided to do the whole thing herself and made the printed fabric an inherent part of the clothing she created.  The way she integrated the use of print into her designs reminds me very much of 1970's Clothkits clothing I used to make both for me and the children.

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Lipstick Print 1968

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In 1967 the Fulham Road Clothes Shop opened with Rhodes and her friend Sylvia Ayton working together.  By 1969 Rhodes was ready to launch into a solo career and took her collection to New York where it was featured in American Vogue and her career took off.

Rhodes entire lifestyle is as dramatic and theatrical as her appearance.  Whilst Paris plodded on with St Laurent she was in the vanguard of the new wave of extrovert British designers who placed the British fashion scene in the full glare of international acclaim in the 1970’s.

Rhodes style is very distinctive and has a timeless quality.  The very feminine and flamboyant prints from the 60’s look as fresh as more recent work. 

Throughout her career Rhodes has explored colour and pushed the boundaries.  What at first were thought of as garish colours have since become recognised as vibrant and exciting.  Rhodes uses unexpected combinations not only of colour but of fabrics.     A boring colour can be revitalised by using an unexpected fabric to print on.

Her most famous creation was produced in 1973 and is still available today.  It is "73/44". The dress has a deep V neck with a high waist, full skirt and long, graceful sleeves and a contrasting sash.  In its many variations this dress has graced the frames of anyone who is anyone; princesses, pop stars and actors.  

The Dress Installation shot by Anthony Scoggins

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In recent years there has been developments into areas like the theatre where she has designed both sets and costumes, licences including jewellery, wrapping paper and even a limited range for MAC make up.

Rhodes had an ambition to set up a Fashion and Textile Museum in London, which would show the work of fashion and textile designers from the 1950's onwards. It was officially opened in May 2003 and the museum is now part of Newham College of Further Education and it has been awarded the status of: National Skills Academy for Fashion, Textiles, and Jewellery.

At the opening of the Fashion and Textile

 Museum in May 2003

I've given up on owning a Rhodes creation but I can maybe have some wrapping paper.



Zandra Rhodes, 2005, A lifelong love affair with textiles. Zandra Rhodes Publications, Camberley, Surrey