Rhodes, Zandra (1940–)

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Rhodes, Zandra (1940–)

English fashion designer. Name variations: Zandra Lindsey Rhodes. Born 1940 in Chatham, Kent, England; attended Medway College of Art, 1959–61, and Royal College of Art, School of Textile and Design, 1961–64; lived with Salah Hassanein (former president of Warner Bros. International Theaters).

Was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother who was a fitter in Paris fashion house and teacher at Medway College of Art; became part of the new wave of British designers who put London at forefront of international fashion scene (1970s), opening The Fulham Road Clothes Shop with others; took cues from street-punk fashion for "Conceptual Chic" collection (1977), employing safety pins, exposed seams and torn fabrics in designs; known for screen prints and hand-decorated textiles adorned with flowers, lips, rock landscapes and zigzag patterns, designed for everyone from Princess Diana to Freddie Mercury; established studio in California (1995), to develop interior design business; worked with David Humphries to produce terrazzo floors for The Fashion and Textile Museum Grand Entrance in London (2000); commissioned by San Diego Opera to design costumes for The Magic Flute (2001). Named British Royal Designer of the Year (1972); won Emmy Award for costumes for Romeo and Juliet on Ice (1984); made Commander of the British Empire (CBE, 1997).

See also Zandra Rhodes and Anne Knight, The Art of Zandra Rhodes (Jonathan Cape, 1984).