Zandra Rhodes – författare

Celebrating decades of achievement by one of the foremost names in British fashion, whose vitality and influence continue to shineZandra Rhodes provides a luscious documentary of this leading British designer, spanning her 50-year career in fashion and textile design. The book showcases not only Rhodes’s work but also her vivid personality and creative energy. Both a fashion trailblazer and a consummate textile designer, she has influenced the work of contemporary labels such as Mary Katrantzou and Alice Temperley. The book honors the centrality of textile design in Rhodes’s work, while exploring the versatility of her imagination throughout her long career; contributors include Pierpaolo Piccioli (creative director of Valentino), Suzy Menkes (editor of Vogue International), and celebrated fashion designers Anna Sui and Rajeev Sethi. It also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the house of Zandra Rhodes, a British-owned and -made brand, and Rhodes’s successful establishment of the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.Published in association with the Fashion and Textile Museum, LondonExhibition Schedule:Fashion and Textile Museum, London(September 27, 2019–January 26, 2020)

'From the winged cape she designed for Freddie Mercury to her white Biba boots, every piece tells a memorable tale.' The Lady, Book of the Year'A vivid and compelling picture of the broader fashion landscape between 1960 and the present day. Anecdotes? The book is full of them.' The Times'Dazzling from start to finish.' Joanna LumleyIn this insightful memoir, Zandra shares her life story for the first time. Told through a variety of mementos collected over the years, it is a vibrant account filled with rockstars and royalty, of life-changing friendships and poignant reflections on her personal triumphs and tragedies, as well as the fears, sacrifices and pressures that come with being an era-defining designer.Full of poignant reflections and life lessons on achieving success while defying convention, Zandra takes the reader right alongside her as she recounts being inspired by her avant-garde mother to her time at the Royal College, from a road trip to Rome with Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, to opening her first London store thanks to a kind loan from Vanessa Redgrave with Joe Cocker singing With a Little Help From My Friends, from hanging out with Andy Warhol and Halston in New York's Studio 54 to lifelong friendships with legends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Vreeland; from designing for everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross, Princess Diana to Barbra Streisand to founding the Fashion and Textile Museum.Capturing the rich and unexpected life of a British icon, this memoir explores what it is to defy the norm.‘Zandra Rhodes has changed the course of fashion history.' Suzy Menkes, fashion journalist

'A vivid and compelling picture of the broader fashion landscape between 1960 and the present day. Anecdotes? The book is full of them.' The Times'Dazzling from start to finish.' Joanna LumleyIn this insightful memoir, Zandra shares her life story for the first time. Told through a variety of mementos collected over the years, it is a vibrant account filled with rockstars and royalty, of life-changing friendships and poignant reflections on her personal triumphs and tragedies, as well as the fears, sacrifices and pressures that come with being an era-defining designer.Full of poignant reflections and life lessons on achieving success while defying convention, Zandra recounts being inspired by her avant-garde mother to her time at the Royal College alongside David Hockney; from a road trip to Rome with Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, to opening her first London store thanks to a loan from Vanessa Redgrave with Joe Cocker singing With a Little Help From My Friends to the assembled crowd of London's 1960s fashion scene; from hanging out with Andy Warhol and Halston in New York's Studio 54 to lifelong friendships with legends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Vreeland; from designing for everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross, Princess Diana to Barbra Streisand to founding the Fashion and Textile Museum.Capturing the rich and unexpected life of a British icon, this memoir explores what it is to defy the norm.‘Zandra Rhodes has changed the course of fashion history.' Suzy Menkes, fashion journalist