FASHION AWARNESS II ZANDRA RHODES BY: FARZANEH JAHANGARD
Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, (born 19 September 1940), is an English fashion and textile designer. Zandra is one of the most famous names in the British fashion industry over the last fifty years. She designs romantic and fantastic clothes that cannot be mistaken for the work of any other design. She studied textile design and lithography, graduated from the royal college of Art in 1966. Started out as a textile designer and set up her own print works to produce fabrics. She began designing dress in 1968 because she didn’t like what other designers did with her fabrics. Her strength is in her prints which are intricate and very special. She uses intricate cuts and lots of zig zag hems and layers in light fabrics that float around the body. Hems are often stitched with pearls or finished with pinking shears. There is a lot of exquisite beading. Rhodes glamourized punk
in controversial early 1980’s collection featuring carefully placed and stitched slashes, pearl and rhinestone safety pins and glittery bathtub chain. A collection of classic daywear called Zandra Rohodes II was added in 1985. The line is manufactured in Scotland; the emphasis is on wool and other traditionally “British “fabrics. An outrageous original, Rhodes wears hot pink or vari-coloured hair and unusual makeups. She uses extreme makeups and props in her runway presentations. Also, designs sleepwear, textiles, sheets, rugs; pays frequent visits to the United States where her clothes are sold in such stores as Henri Bendel and Bloomingdale’s. Among her specialties in the mid-90’s were bridal wear and beautiful furs. In 2003 she established the fashion and textiles museum in London. It includes a large section of her own work. Projects in California include Zandra by the sea and costumes for the San Diego Opera Co. She also has designed garments for a host of eminent clients from royalty to rock stars, including elegant dresses for Diana, Princess of Wales, and flamboyant stage costume for Freddie Mercury.
First collection The Knitted Circle, 1969
The inspiration for Zandra Rhodes's first collection, The Knitted Circle in 1969, came from her childhood experiences of knitting, as well as from knitting with friends whilst on holiday in Wales, and also from the knitted textiles that she had seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Zandra Rhodes often refers to the inspiration of her mother who was a Senior Lecturer in the Fashion Department at Medway College of Design (now the
Rochester campus of the University for the Creative Arts). She inspired by the embroidery technique of chain stitch by looking through her mother's sewing books. From this she developed her textile print design 'Knitted Circle', which gave its name to her first collection, with the printed effect of chain stitch and knitting. With a letter of introduction to Diana Vreeland, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue, Zandra Rhodes set out on her first trip to New York and the designs for her first collection were photographed for Vogue worn by American actress Natalie Wood. The designer was also featured in Women's Wear Daily, and other revered fashion magazines followed suit. The entire collection was bought by the high-end department store, Henri Bendel, and snapped up by society ladies of New York, such as Evangeline Bruce, wife of the US Ambassador to the UK.
New York and ‘Indian Feathers’ collection (1970)
On a trip to New York in 1970, Zandra Rhodes was taken by friends to visit the Museum of the American Indian (now the National Museum of the American Indian) where she was "knocked out with the intricacy of the beautiful feathers and the way they had used dyed porcupine quills as beads." This porcupine quillwork made her think of the intricate detailing of Tudor samplers with stump
work embroidery, and she felt that the intricacy was just as amazing. At the museum she sketched drawings of the feather headdresses and the embroidery.
When she returned to her studio in London, she developed these feathers into a print design in which they looked as though they were sewn on with crossstitches. Zandra Rhodes was also picking up on the themes from her first collection, which was inspired by knitting and stitching, as well as from her second collection, in which real feathers were sewn on to the hems of the garments.
Zandra Rhodes created silk chiffon 'feathers' by cutting around the individual printed feathers and hand rolling the edges. She was also inspired to use colour combinations originally used by Native Americans, for example, printing her feathers with a combination of terracotta, indigo, black, and turquoise.
The Ukraine and 'Chevron Shawl' 1970
Zandra Rhodes's other fashion collection in 1970’s was The Ukraine and 'Chevron Shawl' .
It was the hippie era and during this time Zandra Rhodes was influenced by the well-travelled people that she met who were experimenting with wearing non-
Western clothing. Using the same construction technique that she had developed for her first collection, The Knitted Circle in 1969, the designer cut around the shape
of
the
print.
She
also
experimented with using different types of fabric, including stiff calico for a pointed quilted coat, and light floating silk chiffon for skirts and dresses, as well as voluminous satin dresses
and
clothing.
She
also
attached feathers to her silk chiffon garments, sewing them on to the tips of the pointed hems.
The Ukraine and 'Chevron Shawl' collection was featured in Italian Vogue and British Vogue and was photographed by Henry Clarke and David Bailey and shown worn by model Penelope Tree. The pink silk chiffon
ensemble
was
also
photographed worn by model Bianca Jagger on the front cover of The Sunday Times Magazine, 1972.
The ‘Dinosaur Coat’ (1971)
The 'Dinosaur coat' is so-called because of the zig-zag shaped outside seams, which to the designer seemed to echo the zig-zag shape on the back of a dinosaur. Zandra Rhodes wanted to make the seams a feature on the coat and she hand-cut the zig-zag shape. The shape of the thick wool under felt coat and
the panels of fabric were inspired by Yves Saint Laurent's green fur coat in a photograph for French Elle in 1971. The 'dinosaur coat' is shaped as if it was made from curved fur pelts sewn together.
The 'Dinosaur coat' was photographed with a matching wool underfelt hat by Bishin Jumonji for Anan, Japan in 1971. The appliquĂŠd 'Button Flower' motifs on the coat and hat were a particular feature of the Paris, Frills and Button Flowers collection of 1971. Zandra was the first fashion designer to make a feature of outside seams with her Elizabethan Slashed Silk collection and the Paris, Frills and Button Flowers collection, both of 1971. This is a theme that she has returned to with subsequent collections. For example The Conceptual Chic Collection 1977-8, featured outside seams highlighted with a contrasting colour stitch; red stitching on shocking pink jersey, or blue stitching on black jersey
.
The creation of the ‘Button Flower’ print (1971)
An ordinary everyday object provided the inspiration for Zandra Rhodes's distinctive 'Button Flower' print in 1971. The designer made a trip to button manufacturers J&J Stern in London where she bought some simple flower and geometric shaped buttons, which were attached to cards with pinked shapes of
fabric behind each sample. She started to draw the flowers like buttons stitched on to the fabric.
The flower's centre became a button and the flower's petals were influenced by the bold, organic shapes of French artist Henri Matisse. Zandra Rhodes also used the 'Button Flower' print as three-dimensional detailing. The 'Button Flower' motif was cut out and placed on to a range of garments, such as the shoulder of her 1971 'Dinosaur coat'. The leading fashion magazines again featured her collection, with Clive Arrowsmith and David Bailey photographing outfits modelled by models Penelope Tree and Pat Cleveland for Vogue.
Zandra Rhodes mentions that she still uses this print design to this day. It can be seen, for example, in her Button Flower perfume launched in 2010. The 'Button Flower' print was also used on the fantastically unique dinner set by ceramics artist Carol McNicoll in 1972. This was created to look like padded PVC and was commissioned by Zandra Rhodes. The dinner set is still a cherished possession in her London penthouse to this day.
The ‘sculpted coat’ from The Shell Collection (1973)
"So that it is almost like the shell goes around the whole of the body".
Known as the 'Mermaid coat', this design from 1973 has a fishtail hem and the collar is held up by boning. In the book The Art of Zandra Rhodes, Zandra Rhodes recalls that she was inspired by discussions with fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld about couture construction techniques and that this led to her use of boning to ensure that the collar was both supported on its own and that it also had the
desired curvaceous shape. Zandra Rhodes had been to Japan to do a show and had got to know the model, muse, and jewellery designer Tina Chow. The 'Mermaid coat' was worn with a small pillbox hat, which was beaded by Tina Chow with shell motifs to link with the appliquĂŠ shell motifs on the coat. In her book, Zandra Rhodes also describes how she was inspired and "reawakened to shells" by the chance discovery of a shell-covered wicker basket in a garage sale near Woodstock. She also remembered seeing shell gardens near Clacton.
Australia and the Ayers Rock collection (1974)
Zandra Rhodes first visited Australia in 1971 to promote her work and fell in love with the country. During her trip she kept seeing postcards of Ayers Rock, now known primarily by its Aboriginal name, Uluru. In 1973 she returned again to Australia for work and this time she was determined to make a visit to the Rock. Out in the desert she walked, climbed, explored, and drew the Rock surrounded by sharp tufts of Spinifex grass punctuating the desert landscape like big pin cushions. She later developed these sketches of the Rock and the native Spinifex grasses into her print design called 'Ayers Rock'.
The 'Ayers Rock' print was based on the idea of creating a new version of the eighteenth-century French Toile de Jouy technique of fine engravings. She translated the sketches from her trip into fine line drawings, which she then cut up and moved around to try them out in different combinations. She used the resultant print design on big square capes such as the turquoise felt cloak. The print can also be seen on a one-shoulder silk chiffon dress, which was photographed for Vogue and also worn by Jackie Kennedy Onassis. This dress was
also chosen by Zandra Rhodes as her favourite for the inaugural exhibition 'My Favourite Dress', at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in 2003, which included a number of personal favourites chosen by famous designers. The one-shoulder dress design has become a Zandra Rhodes classic, which the designer has reinterpreted using other prints throughout her career.
The Mexican Collections (1976-78)
"I went with a boyfriend in a Volkswagen camper around Mexico and actually hated it" – Zandra Rhodes
After trips to the Australian Outback and across the United States which inspired The Ayers Rock Collection 1974) and The Cactus Cowboy Collection (1976), Zandra Rhodes had developed a passion for deserts and set off on a trip to Mexico. At that time in the mid-1970s she found it a complete culture shock and she said "it wasn't very equipped for campers." Whilst on the trip she drew great inspiration from photographing at the market places and by drawing at the Aztec temples, spawning a whole new collection with a new bout of print designs. The idea for her 'Mexican Sombrero' print came from the giant embroidered sombreros that she saw laid out in rows in vibrant colours at the markets, which she photographed looking down from an aerial view. Her drawings of the Aztec walls and temples inspired another print design called 'Mexican Turnaround'. she had drawn Aztec brickwork with decorative stones pressed between the bricks. This was developed into a print design consisting of a diamond shape of bricks with pebble-like detailing, as well as Mirรณ-like motifs, and fan shapes based on the embroidery from the sombreros that she had seen.
Zandra Rhodes used her unique construction technique that she developed with her first collection in 1969 to create the shape of the final garments based on the print design itself. The diamond rather than bodice shaped print of the 'Mexican Turnaround' led to new garment shapes such as the petal-type chiffon dresses like 77/1. Zandra Rhodes also dyed beads to match or co-ordinate with the print and chiffon colours. By dying them herself, many more colours were possible. Dresses from The Mexican Collections have been photographed at the time worn by icons such as the models Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall.
The Conceptual Chic collection (1977-78)
1977 was the year I became the infamous High Priestess of Punk" – Zandra Rhodes
In 1977 Zandra Rhodes made a dramatic departure from her floating silk chiffon, screen-printed designs, which she had been producing and had become famous for since her first collection in 1969. Zandra Rhodes inspiration behind The Conceptual Chic Collection of 1977-8, which came from London street culture and the punk movement at the time. This led her to experiment with tears, safety pins, and sink chains to decorate her garments created from black, shocking pink, and bright red jersey fabric. She is acknowledged as the first high-end designer to blend elements of punk with glamorous couture, and her designs will be featured in a 2013 exhibition 'PUNK: Chaos to Couture' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. "It was a journey into London street culture, that's true, but as with everything I do there were many influences at work, some lurking away in my subconscious, some staring me in the face, openly challenging me" – Zandra Rhodes Whilst the press hailed it as Punk, Zandra Rhodes has acknowledged a number of other influences. In particular she was inspired by an earlier 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli dress with a print of jagged torn fabric shapes by Surrealist artist Salvador Dali. With its strategically placed tears, the collection can also be seen as a progression from Zandra Rhodes's earlier Elizabethan Slashed Silk Collection of 1971. An interesting and frequently cited urban legend surrounds The Conceptual Chic Collection. It is said that when someone sent one of the outfits to the dry cleaners, it cameback with a little bag containing the safety pins and all the holes had been mended.
The Renaissance/Gold Collection, 1981
The Renaissance/Gold Collection of 1981 was inspired by the combination of the royal wedding, historic dress from the Elizabethan period, and panniers from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection of historic costume. Vogue sent a
memo around to fashion designers saying that there was going to be a royal wedding. Due to press speculation, Zandra Rhodes assumed this would be the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Zandra Rhodes later went on to design silk chiffon dresses for Princess Diana in the mid-1980s, such as this evening dress, describing her as "like a fairytale princess." The Zandra Rhodes Modern Renaissance Look consisted of a number of separate garments that could be worn together, or individually, to varying effects. For example, a gold pleated jacket could be worn over a plain black dress, as worn by radio host Sue MacGregor on the cover of the Radio Times. Whereas the singer Diana Ross was photographed by Richard Avedon wearing a bodice with pleated gold sleeves and gold pleated over panniers with black leggings. Zandra Rhodes also wore a version of her Modern Renaissance Look to the opening of the Barbican Centre, London, 1982. The Total Renaissance Look consisted of: a quilted laced bodice with attached gold pleated sleeves and collar; gold pleated over panniers; a screen printed skirt in pleated black net; a pleated or plain gold skirt; and white cotton under panniers. This complete Look is in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and was featured in their exhibition Ballgowns: British Glamour
Since 1950, 19 May 2012 - 6 January 2013.
Special Edition Royal Mail Stamp released in 2012; Renaissance ensemble photographed by Sølve Sundsbø.
Reinterpreting the ‘Shell Jacket’ (1973) for the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection
The shape of the quilted satin jacket was first developed in 1973 from a print of a spiral of shells. Zandra Rhodes started this print with the idea in the back of her mind that she would cut around the diminishing spiral and end up with a snakelike shape. But as she states, when she tried doing this, the results "were hopeless". She then tried experimenting with printing the 'Shell Spiral' design on different fabrics and eventually came up with the quilted satin jacket, which uses the whole of the print design and follows its curved shape. This jacket was reworked in her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection using a completely different print, giving it a whole new look. In her digitised archive, another example of the
jacket can be seen from her 1985 India Revisited collection, which was made in black satin and hand beaded and satin stitched in gold.
Using previous work to inspire new designs
Ready to Wear S/S 2016
"My ideas are never static. I don't just design a print or a dress, produce it, and then drop it. The theme keeps worrying me to be developed and the original idea becomes linked to something new and is regenerated." - Zandra Rhodes Zandra Rhodes often makes use of her previous fashion designs and prints from her archives and reinterprets them into new pieces. She also mentions that customers sometimes come to her and ask for a particular style that she has done in the past. The walls of her studio can be seen covered with exciting new print designs and ideas that are in development for 2013.
This includes a version of her iconic 'Sparkle' print, which can be seen on the far right. This print was first developed over 40 years ago and has been reintroduced and reinterpreted on her garments in later collections.
Zandra Rhodes Ready to Wear Spring Summer 2019 London
Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles.