Using previous work to inspire new designs

9. Using previous work to inspire new designs

"My ideas are never static. I don't just design a print or a dress, produce it, and then drop it. The theme keeps worrying me to be developed and the original idea becomes linked to something new and is regenerated." - Zandra Rhodes

In this video clip, Zandra Rhodes describes how she often makes use of her previous fashion designs and prints from her archives and reinterprets them into new pieces. She also mentions that customers sometimes come to her and ask for a particular style that she has done in the past.

One example of a contemporary reinterpretation of a previous Zandra Rhodes design can be seen in her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. The distinctive quilted jacket from 2012, which is shown in the video, shares the same shape as an earlier quilted satin jacket from 1973, but in different prints.

The walls of her studio can be seen at the beginning of this video covered with exciting new print designs and ideas that are in development for 2013. This includes a version of her iconic 'Sparkle' print, which can be seen on the far right. This print was first developed over 40 years ago and has been reintroduced and reinterpreted on her garments in later collections.

       

Above: 'Sparkle' print used in 1971 (left) and 1980 (right) © Zandra Rhodes

Certain dresses in particular have become known as Zandra Rhodes classics that are revisited every season and reworked, such as her best-selling dress known simply by its style number '73/44'. This feminine silk chiffon dress first came out in 1973 with a 'Field of Lilies' print, and has a deep v-neckline, long wide sleeves, and a full length skirt. It is finished with a satin sash in a contrasting or complementary colour, which is another Zandra Rhodes trademark.

               
Above: 73/44 dress in two different colourways, 1973, and one-shoulder dress, 1974 © Zandra Rhodes

The '73/44' dress has been worn by well-known figures and women around the world. The dress was also highlighted as an iconic representation of the designer's work in the 2005 exhibition and accompanying exhibition catalogue, Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles.

Another example of a Zandra Rhodes classic is her one-shoulder dress first created in 1974, which has been re-worked in subsequent collections up to the present day.

Reinterpreting the 'Shell Spiral' jacket

10. Reinterpreting the 'Shell Spiral' jacket

Zandra Rhodes is famous for using her textile print designs to inform the shape of the final garment. The shape of the quilted satin jacket in this video was first developed in 1973 from a print of a spiral of shells.

Zandra Rhodes started this print with the idea in the back of her mind that she would cut around the diminishing spiral and end up with a snakelike shape. But as she states, when she tried doing this, the results "were hopeless". She then tried experimenting with printing the 'Shell Spiral' design on different fabrics and eventually came up with the quilted satin jacket, which uses the whole of the print design and follows its curved shape.

This jacket was reworked in her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection using a completely different print, giving it a whole new look. In her digitised archive, another example of the jacket can be seen from her 1985 India Revisited collection, which was made in black satin and hand beaded and satin stitched in gold.

The Denim dress motifs

19. The denim dress motifs

The embellished denim dress from Zandra Rhodes's The Fantastic Flower Garden Collection of 1988, showcases motifs in a wide range of techniques including: appliqué, hand beading, hand painting, ornamentation, pleating, satin stitch, and screen printed fabrics.

In this video, Zandra Rhodes describes how she did various experiments with denim, which led her to create this dress, which was hand painted with bleach that ate holes in the fabric. The dress was then hand painted in pink dye and embellished with studs, rhinestones, mirrors, and Swarovski diamantes.

What makes the dress really special and unique is the addition of found pieces of previous Zandra Rhodes prints in satin, which have been appliquéd on to different areas of the dress.

The different pieces of Zandra Rhodes prints on the dress include:

• Indian Feather Sunspray print on pleated satin fabric edging the front bodice panel and epaulettes.
• Button Flower motifs in two different colourways have been appliquéd to each shoulder: one hand beaded like a corsage; another motif appears on the back near the waist.
• Frilly motifs appliquéd like a trompe l'oeil necktie, trimming the cuffs, and on one shoulder.
• Lipstick motif appliquéd to the centre front.

In the video Zandra Rhodes describes this dress as featuring pieces from other collections and "different parts of my life". Zandra Rhodes has worn this dress herself on more than one occasion, including recently to the Matthew Williamson show at London Fashion Week in September 2012.