Mercury. Princess Anne wore a Zandra Rhodesshell-print organza dress for her engagementphoto to Mark Phillips. Later, caught up in theexcitement of punk, her innovative approach tothe construction of garments could be seen inher use of reversed, exposed seams and jerseydresses decorated with tiny jewelled safety pinsand tears.

Zandra has always diversified. She’s designedmake-up for MAC, Royal Doulton tableware, fab-rics for Osborne & Little. There were the sets forThe Magic Flute and Aïda, as well as the bollardsand swirly lamposts for the Bellenden RenewalArea in Peckham. In the 90s, her company wentinto voluntary liquidation, and for a time she wasin the fashion wilderness. But recently there’sbeen a Rhodes revival: Dazed & Confused andHarper’s Bazaar have hailed her as a style icon,and her influence can be gleaned in the collec-tions of John Galliano and Roberto Cavalli.Gucci’s Tom Ford and Kate Moss are both knownto collect vintage Rhodes. TopShop commis-sioned a range of her printed tops – and, in May,Marks & Spencer is bringing out a collection ofher beachwear.

The Museum houses Rhodes’s 3,000-strongcollection of her own designs, along with work byother designers including Bill Gibb and OssieClark. Initially, the sale of eight apartmentswithin the same building helped subsidise themuseum, but now it’s owned and run by Newham

The lovely thing about fashion designer ZandraRhodes, CBE, is she’s not remotely precious as acollector. Walk round the colourful, open-plankitchen-diner of her penthouse flat in London’sSouth Bermondsey, and you’ll see platters anddishes by Carol McNicoll full of tangerines andkiwi fruit, and – shock horror! – jugs by McNicollagain and Kate Malone displaying dried and plas-tic flowers.

Rhodes has been collecting for over 40 years,but these makers are her friends and collabo -rators. Sometimes she took a piece in lieu ofpayment; at other times, she’d buy artwork tosupport the fledgling career of a young graduate.‘When Carol was a student she worked for me asa printer one holiday in the 70s. At the time shewas living with Brian Eno. When she left to go tothe RCA, I said, “What do you do?” And she said,“I’m a ceramist,” and she showed me these fabu-lous pink cups and saucers. And so it started meoff. I commissioned a whole dinner service whichshe decorated with my prints.’

This isn’t a formal collection behind glass.Even the more valuable pieces – early-careerMcNicoll tea pots and cups and saucers, asym-metric soup dishes and jugs – are used atRhodes’s epic dinner parties (she piles each tablesetting on a Japanese lacquer tray with chop-sticks to avoid table cloths and fiddly cutlery).Many pieces are elegantly faded, or worn, butthey are greatly loved. ‘Whenever Carol asks for

bits for an exhibition, I have to say: “Oh mind thechips!”’ Rhodes laughs. She relies on her friendBouke de Vries, London’s top mender, to makerunning repairs.

Her flat, with its aerial garden, sits on top ofthe Fashion and Textile Museum, a bright pinkand ochre Mexican-style blockhouse designed byMexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, opened byRhodes in 2003. The views are amazing: LondonBridge, Foster & Partners’ gherkin, and on a goodday, the whole of the East London skyline. Shesold her home in Notting Hill Gate to finance theMuseum. When she first moved in, BermondseyStreet was pretty deserted. Now it’s full of chi-chibars and galleries. Plans for three new residentialtowers by Tate Modern architects Herzog & deMeuron will also bring new people into the area.

Rhodes, an extraordinarily vital figure at 67,with her pink hair and wild eye makeup, is theoriginal couture queen of punk. Back in the 60s,she studied textiles at the RCA, where her peerswere Ossie Clark and David Hockney. Unable tofind anyone to make garments that would displayher swirly all-over prints, she began designingher own dresses. By 1969 she had established herown retail outlet on the Fulham Road (after bor-rowing £1,000 from actress Vanessa Redgrave).In the 70s she had made her name dressingBianca Jagger, Natalie Wood and Tina Chow, inflamboyant, floaty gowns. She also designed but-terfly-winged tops for Marc Bolan and Freddie

FOR ZANDRA

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College of Further Education. However, the top-floor penthouse is her private fantasy space. Thefirst thing she did was paint the interior all thecolours of the rainbow. The bright floor tiles areby Amtico. ‘I could never live in a plain whitespace, colour inspires me.’

As for the decor: ‘My only criterion is thatI love it and have to live with it.’ A magnificentglass chandelier by her best friend, the sculptorAndrew Logan, has Z-shaped droplets cascadingdown from it. He also contributed his wooden-throne chair, originally designed for the Alterna-tive Miss World Contest, which he hosts eachyear. (In return Rhodes designs his costumes.)

Nothing is dull or suburban chez Zandra. The‘coffee table’ is made up of huge silver trunkscovered in fabric (they store classic Rhodes

Born in 1940 in Chatham, Kent, Rhodes wasinspired by costume from an early age, not leastbecause her mother was a fitter in Paris andtaught at the Medway College of Art. She studiedat Medway herself, before going to the Royal College.

You’ll see her Z motif all around the room –from the tiny Swarovski crystals on Logan’schandelier to the Z-shaped wooden stools, whichwere originally in her fashion shop. The blackcaryatids on either side of the window are man-nequins inherited from a party decorator that shehas dressed and painted.

There’s an exquisite Leaning Tree sculpture,carved from wood, that she picked up in Madras,originally from the top of an Indian temple.‘Andrew [Logan] said, “It looks like you!” He’s

designs). On it she displays vases and platters byKate Malone. ‘I first spotted Kate at her degreeshow at the Royal College when she was doingher sea motifs and I’ve been collecting her eversince.’ On the walls are large canvases by DuggieFields, a very close friend – though he had to takeher to court back in the 1960s to get his money: ‘Ipaid the deposit, and then he had to sue mebecause I was so broke. I think he felt very guilty,’she cackles.

At the far end of the room is a circular dinnertable, Rhodes’s own 1969 design, when she wasteaching, with a striking Dutch tulipiére (ornateflower-holder) holding yellow plastic tulips.There are teapots by McNicoll, including herfamous Alice in Wonderland tea set, originallycommissioned for Peter Blake.

The interior is painted all the colours of the

rainbow. ‘I could never livein a plain white space,colour inspires me’

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Previous spread: Zandra Rhodes in her own designs and mosaic jewellery by Andrew Logan, in front of screen,

hand-painted wood design by Rhodes.Opposite: dish, large jug, vase, all by Kate Malone

Above: circular dining table, rocks and minerals; threesettings by Carol McNicoll, two in ceramic, 1975,

the nearest featuring soft crushed plates, ceramic fringe, button flowers transfers, commissioned in 1972,

used in McNicoll’s final RCA show.Bottom left: zigzag candlestick, Carol McNicoll, 1974;

objects from travels; marble table with Rhodes designs inlaid, designed and made in India for Hanover 2000 Expo;

Drops from chandelier, Andrew Logan, above. Bottom Right (l-r): teapot, cup, saucer, asymmetrical cup

and saucer, all Carol McNicoll, 1969-2007

50 MARCH | APRIL 2009 CRAFTS

wonderful to have on holiday because he alwayssays, “Don’t think about it. Buy it! Or you’ll regretit for the rest of your life.”’

Plaster pillars at the window came from the theatre set of the Rocky Horror Show. A giant flockof gold and purple swans make surreal plantholders. And the colourful bust of Putin is actu-ally a Russian money box that Zandra has given apainted Dayglo jacket and tie.

In the far corner is her changing room whereshe sees clients. Ornamental screens, which shehad made when she worked on an ashram inIndia, hide rails of her ‘vintage butterflies’ (chif-fon dresses). The open-plan living ‘acts as myshowroom, I show clothes here and I do fittings.’The asymmetrical velvet chairs came from adraped room set she did for Belsay Hall, the 14th-

She divides her time between Bermondsey andSan Diego, California, where she lives for twoweeks of every month with her Egyptianboyfriend, the ex-president of Warner Brothers,Salah Hassanein.

By the stairs is a large leather banquette cov-ered in Zandra Rhodes cushions. On the longshelf behind are vases of plastic flowers, Rhodes’s1979 Emmy for the costume design of Romeoand Juliet on Ice, and a sparkling bust of her – withhair made from pink glass – a birthday presentfrom Logan, the twin of which is in the NationalPortrait Gallery. ‘It came about because he hap-pened to be using the top floor of my old housein Notting Hill as a studio. He had a terrible fireand needed somewhere to work. One day he saidto me: “You know I’d love to sculpt you before

century English Heritage house and castle inNorthumberland.

The penthouse is surrounded by a patio,where Rhodes grows pink heather, peonies andthe 40-year-old camelias from her old garden(which she had lifted up the side of the buildingby crane), watched over by an eight-foot goldenBuddha (‘It’s polystyrene,’ she says. ‘Touch it!’)and Indian-style polystyrene pillars, all originallyfrom a party at John Aspinall’s gambling club.

Rhodes is a fantastic cook and hostess. The L-shaped kitchen looks out to Tower Bridge. Hereyou’ll find a Portuguese ceramic rooster, a giantpineapple, model birds and an exotic collection ofteas. Despite her ornate creations she can’t bearwaste, and recycles everything in her compostpile – including tea bags for her beloved camelias.

‘Andrew Logan’s wonderfulon holiday because he

says, “Don’t think about it.Buy it! Or you’ll regret it for

the rest of your life”’

and designers’ tools. Her three studio assistants,Polly, Jennifer and Kitty, clearly adore her.

A workaholic, Rhodes says she wants to end up as a formidable dowager duchess (her hero-ines are Diana Vreeland and Dame Edith Sitwell). ‘I’m so English it’s not true! I like tea, toast and The Archers. I have Desert Island Discs taped and sent to me in America.’ But when she’s back in London, she likes nothing better thanhosting dinner parties for 40. Which is where thecollection takes centre stage. ‘If it’s done on nicechina, I’ve always maintained that even if youmake a lousy job of the food, everyone has a brilliant time.’ The Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 BermondseyStreet, London SE1 3XF, (020) 7407 8664. www.zandrarhodes.com, www.ftmlondon.org

CRAFTS MARCH | APRIL 2009 51

ation. And there are sketches and cartoons ofZandra by famous artist friends. In her bedroom,walls have been silk-screen printed with hugelilac and pink roses; while the sheets weredesigned by Rhodes, some with bow and lilyprints, others with pleats or frills.

At the end of her hall is an amazing wall ofshelves with literally dozens of plates and dishesby contemporary ceramists piled up like akitchenware shop. Even though she moved in fiveyears ago, she’s still discovering forgotten treas-ures in her packing cases.

On the floor below is Rhodes’s workroom. Sheoften works from 6.30am to midnight, snipping,draping and printing. Before she dresses up in herfinery for the photographer, she is wearing aheavy duty workman’s belt containing scissors

you change the colour of your hair.”’ In fact herhair is still resolutely bright pink – she dyed itdark brown once so as not to embarrass Has-sanein, but soon changed it back. ‘I wasn’t me.’

Go down the flight of stairs and you’ll findRhodes’s library – a wonderful cosy, red-walledroom where books are colour-coded. You’ll findart catalogues and gardening books, as well as thestorybooks (A. A. Milne, Heidi, the Flower Fairybooks) that she had as a child. And she has a mag-pie eye for toys: gonks, teddies, playing cards,Russian dolls.

Next door is the bathroom, with an old Holly-wood-style, mosaiced mirror by Logan. Zandrajokes it actually makes you look ageless. In thehallway outside the loo is a framed photograph ofPrincess Diana in an original Zandra Rhodes cre-

Previous spread: painting (left), Duggie Fields, 1970s; painting (right), Andrew Stahl; on table,

fan vase, large folded paper vase, early 80s, both Carol McNicoll, both ceramic, mosaic bust

of Rhodes, Andrew LoganOpposite: three carved and painted brightly coloured

chairs with matching screen (in portrait) designed by Rhodes, other chairs bought in India, blue glaze vase by Kate Malone, assorted cushions by Rhodes.

Above left: Swan, resin Tree of Life, bought in Madrasand thought to be from the top of an Indian Temple

Above right: Putin money box, originally white plaster,painted to suit, chairs from Zandra Rhodes shop