Our Offsetter Charlie spent two months in New Zealand researching into ethical fibres and materials. She kept us updated with snippets of her exciting stories and findings while she was there.
Day 5: Meeting Zandra.
Zandra Rhodes
As part of New Zealand fashion week, the town where I'm staying is hosting a few events featuring influential designers. This morning I popped along to the see Zandra Rhodes giving a talk in the local Museum. From the buzz of the town, it soon became clear that it certainly isn't every day a fashion legend and style queen comes into town! And I'm pretty sure, she's the only person in New Zealand with bright pink hair, electric blue eye shadow and boldly coloured outfits... so at least she's easy to spot.
Zandra began her career as a printed textile designer, creating bold, colourful, graphic prints that have become her signature. She soon turned her hand tofashion design and in the 1970's became the forefront of the international fashion scene, designing pieces for Kate Moss, Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury.
The venue was totally packed - seemed that even the non-fashionistas were excited by the prospect of a celebrity in the local museum and so had all turned up for the event!
Zandra spoke of how her prints "determine the shape of her clothes", and by following a strict rule of never cutting into her print designs, her clothes are inevitably based on geometric shapes, which is how her signature kaftan stylecame about.
After fifty years in fashion, Zandra still oozes passion for design. Her latest venture sees a somewhat unlikely collaboration with Millets, launching a bright and funky camping range! Zandra’s signature graphic prints and bold use of colour feature throughout, from a teepee tent, to a lightweight rain jacket to rather funky wellies.
Zandra Rhodes for Millets Collection
Zandra Rhodes for Millets Collection
That evening, I was invited to the International Designer Fashion Show, where Zandra Rhodes was due to close. Set in a gorgeous, open-air, old train station, the gi-normous catwalk was covered in fairy-lights and really set the scene for Zandra's girly, floaty collection. And her collection was a total delight - with models gracefully strolling down in bright tunic style pieces. She also showed a few of her vintage pieces from the late 60’s and early 70’s as well as a great display of her famous kaftans.
© Charlie, Zandra Rhodes Collection
I was invited backstage to chat with Zandra. I was keen to find out if she had adopted a sustainable and ethical approach to her work, as she has previously supported the Environmental Justice Foundation’s Pick Your Cotton Carefullycampaign, designing a T-shirt to raise awareness of the use of forced child labour and the ecological devastation associated with cotton production.
© Charlie, Zandra Rhodes Collection
I asked Zandra how important it was to support sustainability and ethical campaigns such as the "Pick Your Cotton Carefully" campaign. Referencing her latest Millets venture, she responded, that it had grounded her by putting her "much more in touch with reality and life", continuing, "Wherever we can, we do our best to try not to do landfill and we try to live in a sustainable way and make sure that life continues as it were".
© Charlie, Zandra Rhodes Collection
Although admittedly not using ethical components in the making of the products, she explained how they had been very careful not to market the Millets range in an unethical way, so instead of flying to South Africa to photograph the products, they had gone to Sunningdale - where it had in fact been snowing!
With the approaching launch of Offset Warehouse, enabling access to all the components needed to work ethically in fashion .. who knows, maybe she'll design a range of environmentally-friendly, fair-trade produced AND ethically marketed wellies for us?!
Charlie with Zandra backstage at the iD Fashion Show.
... stay tuned for my meeting with Internationally recognised artist and jewellery designer, Andrew Logan, and I discover a gorgeous alpaca farm, where the owner remembers the name of every single one of his 300 alpacas!
Charlie (Offsetter).
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