Dame Zandra Rhodes donates archive garments to Powerhouse Museum

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia, announces an extraordinary donation by the Zandra Rhodes Foundation of key fashion garments and textiles from her extensive archive collected over an illustrious career spanning more than 50 years.

The rare and historical pieces were designed by Dame Zandra in the 1970s after connecting with the landscapes of Central Australia during her first visit.

Image: Wool cloak 1974 'Ayers Rock' collection, Zandra Rhodes collection.

One of the first international designers to explore Australia’s unique natural environment in her work, Rhodes came back to Australia in 1973 specifically to see Uluru before returning to London with the sketches that formed her iconic Ayers Rock Collection – now renamed the Uluru Collection – which she showcased to the world at London Fashion Week that same year.

Banners of screen-printed silk chiffon, dresses and garments including a felt cloak featuring Rhodes’ three main print designs from the Uluru Collection – Rock All Over, Spinifex and Lace Mountain – will form part of the donation. The Uluru print was used on a one-shouldered silk chiffon dress worn by former U.S. First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Using sketches she drew during her visit, Rhodes designed the dress with the concept of creating a new version of the 18th century French Toile de Jouy technique of fine engravings.

Image: Lace Mountain, Zandra Rhodes collection.

This generous gift by the Zandra Rhodes Foundation will be a welcome addition to the items designed by Rhodes already in the Powerhouse Collection. Each of these items has been acquired from incredible women including Lady Mary Fairfax, Vera Kaldor and Penelope Tree as well as Rhodes herself who in 1982 gifted one of her most iconic designs to the Powerhouse – the ‘Renaissance Cloth of Gold Crinoline’ – which she wore to the first Australian Women’s Weekly Fashion Awards held at Sydney Town Hall in 1982. The dress was a highlight in the recent Powerhouse exhibition 1001 Remarkable Objects.

This latest donation forms part of a significant global donation of the Zandra Rhodes Foundation archive to museums around the world for current and future generations to study and draw inspiration from.

Image: Spinifex, printed dress, Zandra Rhodes collection.

Synonymous with her bright fuchsia hair, Rhodes launched her iconic brand in the 1960s, taking the London fashion scene by storm with its fusion of print, textiles and bold patterns that earned her the nickname ‘the Princess of Punk’ and led to her dressing some of the world’s most recognisable faces including Freddie Mercury, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Princess Anne, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana.

The Powerhouse is home to over 500,000 objects across the applied arts and sciences and has an extensive collection of 9,000 items of clothing and dress which includes historical and contemporary fashion.

Find out more:
powerhouse.com.au