shell-print organza dress for her engagement photo to Mark Phillips. Later, caught up in the excitement of punk, her innovative approach to the construction of garments could be seen in her use of reversed, exposed seams and jersey dresses decorated with tiny jewelled safety pins and tears. Zandra has always diversified. Shes designed make-up for MAC, Royal Doulton tableware, fab- rics for Osborne & Little. There were the sets for The Magic Flute and Ada, as well as the bollards and swirly lamposts for the Bellenden Renewal Area in Peckham. In the 90s, her company went into voluntary liquidation, and for a time she was in the fashion wilderness. But recently theres been a Rhodes revival: Dazed & Confused and Harpers Bazaar have hailed her as a style icon, and her influence can be gleaned in the collec- tions of John Galliano and Roberto Cavalli. Guccis Tom Ford and Kate Moss are both known to collect vintage Rhodes. TopShop commis- sioned a range of her printed tops and, in May, Marks & Spencer is bringing out a collection of her beachwear. The Museum houses Rhodess 3,000-strong collection of her own designs, along with work by other designers including Bill Gibb and Ossie Clark. Initially, the sale of eight apartments within the same building helped subsidise the museum, but now its owned and run by Newham The lovely thing about fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, CBE, is shes not remotely precious as a collector. Walk round the colourful, open-plan kitchen-diner of her penthouse flat in Londons South Bermondsey, and youll see platters and dishes by Carol McNicoll full of tangerines and kiwi fruit, and shock horror! jugs by McNicoll again 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 of payment; at other times, shed buy artwork to support the fledgling career of a young graduate. When Carol was a student she worked for me as a printer one holiday in the 70s. At the time she was living with Brian Eno. When she left to go to the RCA, I said, What do you do? And she said, Im a ceramist, and she showed me these fabu- lous pink cups and saucers. And so it started me off. I commissioned a whole dinner service which she decorated with my prints. This isnt a formal collection behind glass. Even the more valuable pieces early-career McNicoll tea pots and cups and saucers, asym- metric soup dishes and jugs are used at Rhodess epic dinner parties (she piles each table setting on a Japanese lacquer tray with chop- sticks to avoid table cloths and fiddly cutlery). Many pieces are elegantly faded, or worn, but they are greatly loved. Whenever Carol asks for bits for an exhibition, I have to say: Oh mind the chips! Rhodes laughs. She relies on her friend Bouke de Vries, Londons top mender, to make running repairs. Her flat, with its aerial garden, sits on top of the Fashion and Textile Museum, a bright pink and ochre Mexican-style blockhouse designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, opened by Rhodes in 2003. The views are amazing: London Bridge, Foster & Partners gherkin, and on a good day, the whole of the East London skyline. She sold her home in Notting Hill Gate to finance the Museum. When she first moved in, Bermondsey Street was pretty deserted. Now its full of chi-chi bars and galleries. Plans for three new residential towers by Tate Modern architects Herzog & de Meuron will also bring new people into the area. Rhodes, an extraordinarily vital figure at 67, with her pink hair and wild eye makeup, is the original couture queen of punk. Back in the 60s, she studied textiles at the RCA, where her peers were Ossie Clark and David Hockney. Unable to find anyone to make garments that would display her swirly all-over prints, she began designing her own dresses. By 1969 she had established her own retail outlet on the Fulham Road (after bor- rowing 1,000 from actress Vanessa Redgrave). In the 70s she had made her name dressing Bianca Jagger, Natalie Wood and Tina Chow, in flamboyant, floaty gowns. She also designed but- terfly-winged tops for Marc Bolan and Freddie FOR ZANDRA Z 44 MARCH | APRIL 2009 CRAFTS C R E D I T S 46 MARCH | APRIL 2009 CRAFTS College of Further Education. However, the top- floor penthouse is her private fantasy space. The first thing she did was paint the interior all the colours of the rainbow. The bright floor tiles are by Amtico. I could never live in a plain white space, colour inspires me. As for the decor: My only criterion is that I love it and have to live with it. A magnificent glass chandelier by her best friend, the sculptor Andrew Logan, has Z-shaped droplets cascading down from it. He also contributed his wooden- throne chair, originally designed for the Alterna- tive Miss World Contest, which he hosts each year. (In return Rhodes designs his costumes.) Nothing is dull or suburban chez Zandra. The coffee table is made up of huge silver trunks covered in fabric (they store classic Rhodes Born in 1940 in Chatham, Kent, Rhodes was inspired by costume from an early age, not least because her mother was a fitter in Paris and taught at the Medway College of Art. She studied at Medway herself, before going to the Royal College. Youll see her Z motif all around the room from the tiny Swarovski crystals on Logans chandelier to the Z-shaped wooden stools, which were originally in her fashion shop. The black caryatids on either side of the window are man- nequins inherited from a party decorator that she has dressed and painted. Theres 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! Hes designs). On it she displays vases and platters by Kate Malone. I first spotted Kate at her degree show at the Royal College when she was doing her sea motifs and Ive been collecting her ever since. On the walls are large canvases by Duggie Fields, a very close friend though he had to take her to court back in the 1960s to get his money: I paid the deposit, and then he had to sue me because I was so broke. I think he felt very guilty, she cackles. At the far end of the room is a circular dinner table, Rhodess own 1969 design, when she was teaching, with a striking Dutch tulipire (ornate flower-holder) holding yellow plastic tulips. There are teapots by McNicoll, including her famous Alice in Wonderland tea set, originally commissioned for Peter Blake. The interior is painted all the colours of the rainbow. I could never live in a plain white space, colour inspires me CRAFTS MARCH | APRIL 2009 47 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; three settings by Carol McNicoll, two in ceramic, 1975, the nearest featuring soft crushed plates, ceramic fringe, button flowers transfers, commissioned in1972, usedin McNicolls 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 always says, Dont think about it. Buy it! Or youll regret it for the rest of your life. Plaster pillars at the window came from the theatre set of the Rocky Horror Show. A giant flock of gold and purple swans make surreal plant holders. And the colourful bust of Putin is actu- ally a Russian money box that Zandra has given a painted Dayglo jacket and tie. In the far corner is her changing room where she sees clients. Ornamental screens, which she had made when she worked on an ashram in India, hide rails of her vintage butterflies (chif- fon dresses). The open-plan living acts as my showroom, I show clothes here and I do fittings. The asymmetrical velvet chairs came from a draped room set she did for Belsay Hall, the 14th- She divides her time between Bermondsey and San Diego, California, where she lives for two weeks of every month with her Egyptian boyfriend, the ex-president of Warner Brothers, Salah Hassanein. By the stairs is a large leather banquette cov- ered in Zandra Rhodes cushions. On the long shelf behind are vases of plastic flowers, Rhodess 1979 Emmy for the costume design of Romeo and Juliet on Ice, and a sparkling bust of her with hair made from pink glass a birthday present from Logan, the twin of which is in the National Portrait Gallery. It came about because he hap- pened to be using the top floor of my old house in Notting Hill as a studio. He had a terrible fire and needed somewhere to work. One day he said to me: You know Id love to sculpt you before century English Heritage house and castle in Northumberland. The penthouse is surrounded by a patio, where Rhodes grows pink heather, peonies and the 40-year-old camelias from her old garden (which she had lifted up the side of the building by crane), watched over by an eight-foot golden Buddha (Its polystyrene, she says. Touch it!) and Indian-style polystyrene pillars, all originally from a party at John Aspinalls gambling club. Rhodes is a fantastic cook and hostess. The L- shaped kitchen looks out to Tower Bridge. Here youll find a Portuguese ceramic rooster, a giant pineapple, model birds and an exotic collection of teas. Despite her ornate creations she cant bear waste, and recycles everything in her compost pile including tea bags for her beloved camelias. Andrew Logans wonderful on holiday because he says, Dont think about it. Buy it! Or youll 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). Im so English its not true! I like tea, toast and The Archers. I have Desert Island Discs taped and sent to me in America. But when shes back in London, she likes nothing better than hosting dinner parties for 40. Which is where the collection takes centre stage. If its done on nice china, Ive always maintained that even if you make a lousy job of the food, everyone has a brilliant time. The Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF, (020) 7407 8664. www.zandrarhodes.com, www.ftmlondon.org CRAFTS MARCH | APRIL 2009 51 ation. And there are sketches and cartoons of Zandra by famous artist friends. In her bedroom, walls have been silk-screen printed with huge lilac and pink roses; while the sheets were designed by Rhodes, some with bow and lily prints, others with pleats or frills. At the end of her hall is an amazing wall of shelves with literally dozens of plates and dishes by contemporary ceramists piled up like a kitchenware shop. Even though she moved in five years ago, shes still discovering forgotten treas- ures in her packing cases. On the floor below is Rhodess workroom. She often works from 6.30am to midnight, snipping, draping and printing. Before she dresses up in her finery for the photographer, she is wearing a heavy duty workmans belt containing scissors you change the colour of your hair. In fact her hair is still resolutely bright pink she dyed it dark brown once so as not to embarrass Has- sanein, but soon changed it back. I wasnt me. Go down the flight of stairs and youll find Rhodess library a wonderful cosy, red-walled room where books are colour-coded. Youll find art catalogues and gardening books, as well as the storybooks (A. A. Milne, Heidi, the Flower Fairy books) 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. Zandra jokes it actually makes you look ageless. In the hallway outside the loo is a framed photograph of Princess 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 Logan Opposite: 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 Madras and 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