Known for her bold, bright and colourful style, Zandra Rhodes has donated fashion garments and textiles from her archive to the Powerhouse Museum.
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Rare and historical pieces designed by Dame Rhodes in the 1970s after visiting Central Australia and connecting with the outback landscapes were donated by her foundation.
"My designs inspired by the drawings I did at the base of Uluru are some of my proudest," Dame Zandra said.
"Australia has always held a special place in my heart and my donation celebrates this, centring around garments inspired by my travels to this fabulous country."
Dame Zandra launched her fashion brand in the 1960s, blowing away the London fashion scene with its fusion of print, textiles and bold patterns that earnt her the nickname "the Princess of Punk".
In 2020, she formed the Zandra Rhodes Foundation, a charity that ensures future generations of designers are able to study her designs, with an emphasis on her methods and techniques.
One of the first international designers to explore Australia's unique natural environment in her work, Rhodes came back to the country in 1973 to see Uluru.
Dame Zandra returned to London with sketches that formed her highly regarded Ayers Rock collection which has been renamed the Uluru collection.
"I am thrilled to have donated some of my most treasured pieces to the incredible Powerhouse Museum in Sydney," Dame Zandra said.
Banners of screen-printed silk chiffon, dresses, garments and a felt cloak including her three main print designs from the Uluru collection will form part of the donation.
"Sketching the world famous site (Uluru) and the spinifex grass surrounding it led me to create my 1974 Uluru collection and spinifex print," Dame Zandra said.
The latest donation by her foundation will add to the items designed by Dame Zandra already housed in the museum in Sydney.
She donated one of her most iconic designs to the museum in 1982 called the Renaissance Cloth of Gold Crinoline, which she wore to the first Australian Women's Weekly Fashion Awards.
The 83-year-old designed garments for some of the world's most famous celebrities including Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, Diana Ross and Freddie Mercury.
Australian Associated Press
