The Bite Magazine - Spring Summer 2013

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fashion world’s most dynamic and iconic
personalities. For over 50 years, fashion
designer Zandra Rhodes has experimented
with colour, print and fabric, as well as
with her own image. Through sketches,
designs and garments, only seen before
in her spectacular 1980s fashion shows,
this exhibition highlights the full scope of
Zandra’s artistic vision and archive, and
highlights the importance of fashion as
both art and design.
The exhibition will demonstrate Zandra
Rhodes’ artistic eye, unique use of bold,
feminine prints and theatrical sense of
colour and will include the outstanding 1977
Conceptual Chic collection, the pink and
black jersey pieces with holes and beaded
safety pins that earned
her the title ‘Princess of
Punk’. The first designer
to translate punk to high
fashion,‘Conceptual Chic’
was her first collection
without a printed
design. Also included in
the exhibition will be
garments that bear the
iconic designer’s signature
embroideries, beads,
feathers and sequins.
Zandra who has
dressed royalty and
celebrities including
Princess Diana, Shirley
Bassey, Diana Ross,
Debbie Harry and Kylie
Minogue said: “It is wonderful to see my
work in a new light as part of the Museum’s
10th anniversary. Many of these garments
have only ever been seen on the catwalk
before, so it is a joy to me that they
haven’t been forgotten.” The exhibition
also coincides with the launch of the
Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection
which has been created for the education
community through a collaborative
project between the Zandra Rhodes
Studio and the University for the Creative
Arts (UCA) with funding from Jisc. Visit
for more information.