15 Mar Free-spirited design
Legendary fashion and textile designer Zandra Rhodes has created a capsule collection of two fabrics for Suffolk silk-weaving house Gainsborough, bringing together traditional manufacturing processes with Rhodes’ bold vision.
Available at George Spencer Designs, the fabrics are ‘O-Gee Whizz’ (above left), a punning title referencing the design’s ogee-arch motif, woven in alternating tonal shades to create a diagonal dynamic; and ‘Fabulous Frills’ (above centre), a free-spirited design with curling wavy lines. Both incorporate the designer’s signature patterns in a subtle way: ‘O-Gee Whizz’ is studded with her four-petalled daisy, while ‘Fabulous Frills’ is laid over her ‘Wiggle’ meandering motif.
Rhodes is know for her fearless colour, and the palette features yellow, cornflower and of course, hot pink. She says of the collection: “I was very proud to be involved in keeping a fantastic weaving craft alive, and being able to get my designs combined, to get it to the general public – I can’t wait to see it in people’s places.”
The designer visited George Spencer Designs during London Design Week 2022 to speak to Elspeth Pridham of The Insider about the new launch (above).