Zandra Rhodes was born in 1940 in Kent. Her mother was a fitter for the Paris fashion house ‘Worth’, and then later a lecturer at Medway College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. Rhodes’ mother was a big influence on her as she went on to study printed textile design at the Royal College of Art. After her graduation in 1964, Rhodes’ designs were considered too outrageous for the traditional British manufacturers so she began to make her own clothes using her designs. Throughout her career she has designed for a wide variety of people including Freddy Mercury from Queen, Diana Princess of Wales, Elizabeth Taylor, Kylie Minogue, Joan Rivers and Isabella Blow. In 1977, Rhodes’ exhibited her conceptual chic collection, which was inspired
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There is a correlation between this garment and dress from the 1920s. The period of art deco was heavily inspired by Egypt, India and China as travel became more accessible, also new discoveries like the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 by Howard Carter set off an instant craze for anything Egyptian, something that is reflected in garments from the period. This method of research is something that Rhodes uses herself. Throughout her career she has been inspired by many cultural traditions, landscapes and art. The design for the embellishment on Rhodes’ garment [Image 1] could be attributed to her travels abroad, in particular India. The geometric designs evoke a sense of mosaic, something with can be seen in much of India’s architecture. The interior of the Taj Mahal [Image 3] is something that Rhodes may have seen on her travels as the colour palette of the garment [Image 1] has a similar aesthetic to Indian art with blues and gold. [Image 2] is a dress from 1926 worn by actress Alice Joyce. The dress is typical for the period with a loose silhouette and heavily beaded embellishment. It strikes resemblance to Rhodes’ dress [Image 1] as the cut of the dress, zig zag hemline and the geometric inspired embellishments are quite similar. Another similarity between these two garments is the use of a lightweight gauzy material. Rhodes’ dress [Image 1] is made from silk chiffon, and although one can only speculate what the Joyce dress [Image 2] could be made from, it is most likely to be made from a material with a similar quality to chiffon. The decision behind this material for both garments would be to accentuate the embellishments through movement, something that Rhodes continuously explores throughout her collections. The shape of the garment [Image 1] could also be linked back to Rhodes’ early collections such as ‘The
There is a correlation between this garment and dress from the 1920s. The period of art deco was heavily inspired by Egypt, India and China as travel became more accessible, also new discoveries like the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 by Howard Carter set off an instant craze for anything Egyptian, something that is reflected in garments from the period. This method of research is something that Rhodes uses herself. Throughout her career she has been inspired by many cultural traditions, landscapes and art. The design for the embellishment on Rhodes’ garment [Image 1] could be attributed to her travels abroad, in particular India. The geometric designs evoke a sense of mosaic, something with can be seen in much of India’s architecture. The interior of the Taj Mahal [Image 3] is something that Rhodes may have seen on her travels as the colour palette of the garment [Image 1] has a similar aesthetic to Indian art with blues and gold. [Image 2] is a dress from 1926 worn by actress Alice Joyce. The dress is typical for the period with a loose silhouette and heavily beaded embellishment. It strikes resemblance to Rhodes’ dress [Image 1] as the cut of the dress, zig zag hemline and the geometric inspired embellishments are quite similar. Another similarity between these two garments is the use of a lightweight gauzy material. Rhodes’ dress [Image 1] is made from silk chiffon, and although one can only speculate what the Joyce dress [Image 2] could be made from, it is most likely to be made from a material with a similar quality to chiffon. The decision behind this material for both garments would be to accentuate the embellishments through movement, something that Rhodes continuously explores throughout her collections. The shape of the garment [Image 1] could also be linked back to Rhodes’ early collections such as ‘The