Zandra Rhodes

The British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes (1940 - ) uses the term ‘Works of Art’ to describe her dresses due to the unique artistic research design process involved. The idea for this research project originated during the Jisc-funded Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection project (2011-13). As Digital Cataloguer, Marie-Therese investigated materials in the Zandra Rhodes Archives in London to assist with describing the dress collections. This led to the digitisation of additional material for the project including the Style Bibles and the Textile Design Bibles. The UCA Research Fund provided Marie-Therese with a small grant to write a journal article investigating Zandra Rhodes’ Works of Art in the 1980s. Additional materials were consulted in the Zandra Rhodes Archives including: press books (UK and international magazine and newspaper clippings), postcards, posters and fashion show invitations. The research was also informed by conversations with Zandra Rhodes and Frances Diplock at the Studio and an extensive literature review. More details of the research methodology are provided in the journal article and in this fileset group in an accompanying document (Rich Text Format).