People
Zandra Rhodes' Colourful Heritage project
Colourful Heritage: Zandra Rhodes inspiring future generations of young designers and creative practitioners
1st March 2024 - 31st August 2025
Thanks to National Lottery players, and a £111,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, this project will digitally photograph and catalogue garments and accessories from the archive held at Zandra Rhodes Studio and will design and deliver a range of learning opportunities for underrepresented, 16-17-year-old learners from low socio-economic areas of Medway (where Zandra Rhodes grew up) to inspire use of this remarkable legacy before it is lost. It will also provide paid internships for University Fashion and Textile students, and a lasting online collection of the designer's work and an online toolkit for reuse across the compulsory and further education sectors.
Dame Zandra Rhodes is a textile and fashion designer, who has been an inspirational figurehead of the UK fashion industry for more than five decades. She is recognised internationally as a print designer, which combined with an affinity for fine fabrics and colour has resulted in a signature aesthetic that is undeniably unique and stands the test of time. Zandra Rhodes continues to inspire current and future designers including Anna Sui and Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino.
Working with The Zandra Rhodes Foundation, founded in 2020, our project seeks to document this legacy before the collection disappears as a heritage asset, and to ensure a long lasting, accessible digital collection of the designer's work.
The Zandra Rhodes Foundation
- Dame Zandra Rhodes
- Piers Atkinson, Director, The Zandra Rhodes Foundation
- Kelly Robinson, Director, KMR Fashion Consultancy Ltd.
- Lottie McCrindell, Personal Assistant and Studio Manager, Zandra Rhodes Enterprises Ltd.
- Contact The Zandra Rhodes Foundation
University for the Creative Arts
- Project Email: colourfulheritage@uca.ac.uk
- Project Sponsor: Leigh Garrett, Head of Resources, Discovery and Liaison
- Project Director: Marie Hitchcock, Discovery Services Manager
- Project Consultant: Amy Robinson, Digital Curation Manager
- Project Manager (Finance): Helen Barrett, Collection Services Manager
- Project Manager (Education & Outreach): Ellen Brown, Learning Development Tutor
- Project Manager (Digitisation): Lorna McColl, Senior Digitisation Officer
- Project Manager (Rights): Lisa Moore, Copyright and Compliance Manager
- Project Officer: Marie-Therese Gramstadt
Project Partnership
This project is a partnership between The Zandra Rhodes Foundation and University for the Creative Arts (UCA).
Following the successful Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection (JISC, 2011-13) led by UCA, we are building upon, and expanding the existing Resources with a focus on Outreach.
Dame Zandra Rhodes established The Zandra Rhodes Foundation in 2020 to cultivate the study of her life, work, techniques and designs and their combined contributions to culture.
The previous JISC-funded project had a positive impact on the student interns involved, and so we will re-use lessons learned from this, but additionally for the first time engage with young people in the Medway area of Kent.
Improving the wellbeing of young people in the Medway area
It is well-known that young people have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic and the current cost of living crisis; young people are at the core of this project.
Zandra Rhodes grew up in the Medway and attended school there, so we want to improve the wellbeing of 16-17 year olds in the Medway area in Kent, UK.
The Project Manager Outreach will lead in this area, bringing more than a decade of using art and creativity to engage young people from all backgrounds and with a wide range of needs.
Opportunities for UCA students
The Project Manager Digitisation will lead in this area and the students will have the opportunity to work in the inspirational space of Zandra Rhodes' London Atelier.
