Profile
creatives who work across disciplines and who use themselves as a canvas for their ideas and designs. By exploring the archive, we hope to reveal another dimension to the art of Zandra Rhodes.” Rhodes’ personal exhibition highlights include the 1977 Conceptual Chic collection, the pink and black jersey pieces with beaded safety pins, holes and chains that earned her the ‘Princess of Punk’ title, and her intricately beaded 1986 Egyptian dresses collection. As the first designer to translate punk to high fashion, Conceptual Chic was Rhodes’ first collection without a printed design and two of these pieces are currently on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibition. Zandra Rhodes: Unseen will also feature Rhodes’ signature embroideries, beads, feathers and sequins. Te exhibition will also coincide with the launch of the Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection, which has been created for the education community through a collaborative
“Tis exhibition reveals why she is an inspiration to young designers”
project between the Zandra Rhodes Studio and the University for the Creative Arts (UCA). Te Collection provides unique online access to 500 of the designer’s garments for learning, teaching and research by fashion historians, designers and fans. “I’ve always saved every single original sample,” says Rhodes. “Tese are stored in 70 large metal trunks. I had always wanted these documented so that students could use them for reference and that they could be appreciated and valued by future generations. Trough UCA, which I am chancellor of, we
could apply for a grant with JISC to catalogue the first 500 garments. Together with my staff, students were able to help in the process as well.” Tis is not Rhodes’ first educational project and the exhibition also celebrates 10 years of the Fashion and Textile Museum itself. Founded by Rhodes, the museum is the only attraction in the UK solely dedicated to showcasing developments in contemporary fashion, as well as providing inspiration, support and training for those working in the industry. Owned by Newham College London, it is also one of Europe’s largest further education colleges. “Apart from saving my own collections, I mainly wanted to provide a way for British fashion and textile designers to be recognised for their contributions to the world of design,” says Rhodes. “Additionally, textile designers are the ‘Cinderellas’ of design. No one values the contribution of the textile itself quite enough.” She concludes: “I would love to see the museum gain more international recognition. And I do hope many many more anniversaries will come. I didn’t kill myself and work this hard for no purpose.”
Zandra Rhodes: Unseen runs until 31st August 2013 at the Fashion and Textile Museum. For further information or to book tickets call 0844 248 5076 or visit
www.ftmlondon.org.
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