We are delighted to welcome the iconic fashion and textile designer Dame Zandra Rhodes to our pride of talented lion artists. Dame Zandra will be painting one of the eye-catching lion sculptures in her unique style for the exciting ‘Lions of Windsor 2019’ sculpture trail this summer.
The globally famous British designer has been creating hand-printed textiles for nearly 50 years and will be transferring her incredible talents to one of her most unusual canvasses yet, a 1.5m fibreglass lion sculpture.
Zandra opened her first shop on London’s Fulham Road in 1967. With her bright pink hair, theatrical make-up and art jewellery, Zandra has stamped her identity on the international world of fashion and was one of the new wave of British designers who put London at the forefront of the international fashion scene in the 1970s.
Zandra has designed for clients as diverse as Diana, Princess of Wales, Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and Freddie Mercury of ‘Queen’ and for the rich and famous around the world from royalty to rock stars including: HRH Princess Michael of Kent, Debbie Harry, Bianca Jagger, Kylie Minogue, Anastasia, Paris Hilton, Joan Rivers and the late Isabella Blow.
Dame Zandra set up the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, which is dedicated to the work of fashion and textile designers from the 1950’s onwards and was officially opened May 2003 by HRH Princess Michael of Kent. Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta designed the museum, which is in stunning pink and orange, and already has a preservation plaque.
As well as clothes, she also designs sets and costumes for the opera, jewellery, wrapping paper, china for Royal Doulton, furs for Pologeorgis in New York and has also collaborated with MAC to produce a limited edition make-up range. This will, however, be her first lion!
This year, Dame Zandra is celebrating her ’50 Fabulous Years of Design and 2019 will be filled with special events, launches and collaboration announcements, including decorating a lion for Windsor. There will also be a retrospective exhibition opening in London and a documentary about the 50th anniversary events.
We can’t wait to see Zandra’s unique leonine work of art taking shape. Totally roarsome!
A blank lion was delivered this week to Zandra Rhodes studio in London and is awaiting transformation!
