Zandra Rhodes

Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, DBE RDI (born 19 September 1940), is an English fashion designer. Rhodes' early textile fashion designs were considered outrageous by the traditional British manufacturers. Rhodes' own lifestyle has proved to be as dramatic, glamorous and extrovert as her designs. With her bright green hair (later changed to a pink and sometimes red or other colours), theatrical makeup and art jewellery, she stamped her identity on the international world of fashion. Rhodes was one of the new wave of British designers who put London at the forefront of the international fashion scene in the 1970s. Her designs are considered clear, creative statements, dramatic but graceful, bold but feminine. Rhodes' inspiration has been from organic material and nature. Her unconventional and colourful prints were often inspired by travel; chevron stripes from the Ukraine and the symbols of the North American Indian, Japanese flowers, calligraphy and shells. Her approach to the construction of garments can be seen in her use of reversed exposed seams and in her use of jewelled safety pins and tears during the punk era. She made her biggest splash in 1977 with the establishment take on punk which she called Conceptual Chic. She used kilts and safety pins – pre Versace – to form a sort of embroidery, mixed with loosely drawn figures screen-printed on silk jersey, or on the newly developed Ultrasuede fabric. Rhodes designed for Diana, Princess of Wales, and continues to design for royalty and celebrities. She notably designed several of famous costumes for Freddie Mercury and Brian May of Queen. She has a strong following in the US, UK, and Australia. In 1995 she established a studio in California to develop an interior design business.