{"id":785622,"date":"2026-09-28T20:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785622\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T20:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:16:12","slug":"i-want-my-work-to-be-useful-zandra-rhodes-opens-new-exhibition-at-de-montfort-in-leicester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785622\/","title":{"rendered":"“I want my work to be useful”: Zandra Rhodes opens new exhibition at De Montfort in Leicester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having grown up in Kent, Dame Zandra Rhodes<\/a> has always known that fashion talent isn\u2019t limited just to London. The capital city might be an industry hub, but creativity, she points out, exists all over the country; the challenge is ensuring visibility and community for those from different regions. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s exactly why she donated key parts of her archive to De Montfort University in Leicester in 2023, which has in turn led to a vast, multi-site exhibition, which has just opened. Designed for both students and the wider public, Zandra Rhodes: Archive Unfolded spotlights not only some of her most famous looks, but also her unique print-making process and her commercial collaborations. It’s as much an insight into her creative practice as what it takes to sustain a long-standing fashion career. \u201cI liked the fact that De Montfort was outside of London,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to show young people that they can have a career in fashion regardless of where they grow up. Not everyone lives in London, and being based outside of it shouldn\u2019t stop fabulous creatives from pursuing fashion design or textiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

“I want to show young people that they can have a career in fashion regardless of where they grow up”<\/p>\n

The exhibition takes place across three different campus sites. At the De Montfort University Museum, visitors can delve into Rhodes\u2019 famed 1983 Mediaeval collection and show, which was originally choreographed by the influential artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman. The designer\u2019s initial research and sketches will be on show, alongside the garments themselves. Leicester Gallery will house Rhodes\u2019 numerous commercial partnerships, featuring Ikea, M&S and Topshop, to name just a few. \u201cYoung designers need to understand the importance of licensing,\u201d she says. \u201cI like the way [these collaborations] allow me to explore my vision in a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gallery will also display a timeline of press cuttings about the designer dating back to the 1960s, documenting her ascension from an emerging talent to an internationally known legend. Next to it stands a replica of Rhodes\u2019 process table, covered with printed fabrics, paints and her personal sketchbooks. Posters, show invites and catwalk show notes collected over the years will also be available to see, while in a co-joining atrium, her silk screens hang from the ceiling, artworks in themselves. \u201cWe\u2019re calling it a chiffon forest,\u201d says Rhodes of the screen prints. \u201cIt\u2019s really incredible how much we\u2019ve collected over the years. I remember driving around to different magazines before my catwalk shows to drop off posters to the teams. They were marketing really, but people seem to kept them which is rather nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

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Zandra Rhodes<\/p>\n

Rhodes, herself a self-confessed hoarder, has kept an original of every design she\u2019s ever created, stretching up to thousands. Some are to be housed at famed institutions like the V&A and The Met, but she\u2019s determined that some should be used for educational purposes. Her partnership with De Montfort came about via her best friend, Andrew Logan, who was working with them on a filmmaking project. \u201cI\u2019m very glad of the introduction,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents need things that inspire and to reference and hopefully my work will be better for research than looking inside the shops. I like the idea of it being useful. It\u2019s much better than it going forgotten in boxes in my studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Christina Wilton<\/p>\n

Leicester, she says, is an \u201cinteresting place\u201d and De Montfort itself offers the \u201cbest lingerie course in the country if not the world\u2026 honestly, its shows are the sexiest thing you\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d <\/p>\n

The designer, who celebrated her 86th birthday last week, also recently launched a jewellery collaboration with Tatty Devine<\/a>. The collection was launched with a colourful dinner at her rainbow penthouse, where guests included Grayson Perry, Suzy Menkes and Anita Rani. \u201cIt\u2019s been a busy few weeks,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cBut we won\u2019t complain.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Zandra Rhodes: Archive Unfolded’ is on show now until 16 January 2027. Entry is free. For more information visit dmu.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having grown up in Kent, Dame Zandra Rhodes has always known that fashion talent isn\u2019t limited just to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,9262,258917,1120,381,96,190731,1156,258916,223205,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-785622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-827419c9-ae96-4f57-a2c2-682def64bdaf","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-zandra-rhodes-opens-colourful-new-exhibition","tag-sponsored-false","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}