Dame Zandra Rhodes' Christmas Pop-Up on 28 November 2024

 

Last week, venerable fuchsia-haired doyenne of fashion Dame Zandra Rhodes threw open the doors to her salon to the public for her annual Christmas pop-up – and I attended on Thursday 28 November with my glamourpuss German friend Anne Kathrin! 

For the uninitiated, Rhodes resides in the palatial “Rainbow Penthouse” above the bright orange Fashion and TextileMuseum in Bermondsey. Every time I attend an exhibit there, I wonder, Is Zandra at home? Can I pop up, say Hi and check out the view from her terrace? Well, reader, I finally got up there! Here’s my scene report! (The event was rammed with people but I did manage to snap some photos!). 

/ Life-size cardboard figure of Zandra Rhodes in the corner. /

/ Caftans. Caftans. CAFTANS! Rhodes is of course synonymous with filmy, float-y bedazzled chiffon caftans. /

/ Pop art portrait of Rhodes in hallway to her powder room. /

/ Decor in Zandra Rhodes' corridor. /

/ Diva summit meeting: Anne Kathrin with Dame Zandra Rhodes. By the way, Rhodes is standing in this pic - she is diminutive! Must be about 4'11"! /

/ Me in front of Zandra Rhodes' wall of faux Warhol portraits! /

Farewell, Vivienne Westwood (8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022)

“If in doubt, dress up. Don’t ever dress down – you’ll be so disappointed.” 

Farewell to fashion visionary, doyenne of punk, iconoclast and provocateur, environmental activist, true eccentric British original and Tintwistle, Cheshire’s finest export, Dame Vivienne Westwood (8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022). Who else would rock up to Buckingham Palace in an exquisitely tailored suit to collect her OBE medal (like she did in 1992) – and then afterward twirl for photographers to reveal she was wearing no panties beneath? What other designer would urge the public to buy less clothes? 

As a punk fanatic steeped in the lore of the Sex Pistols, making a pilgrimage to the hallowed ground of Westwood’s World’s End boutique on King’s Road (with the sloping, creaking floor) when I first moved to London in 1992 was de rigueur. The shirt I wanted wasn’t in stock in my size so the salesperson sent me to the Bond Street branch, where I was served by fabulous platinum blonde cougar Jibby Beane (teetering around in extreme fetish heels and wearing a long white lace gown so sheer you could see her matching white push-up bra and thong beneath). When Beane stood behind me in the mirror and gushed that I looked “so cavalier”, she could have persuaded me to buy used tea bags emblazoned with the Westwood orb logo. The shirt cost £75 which seemed astronomical at the time. Of course, I still wear it on special occasions to this day (even on job interviews). And of course, I hung onto the bag for ages! I was always envious of friends and colleagues who’d casually remark they used to regularly spot Westwood cycling around South London with her vivid orange hair flying. I only fleetingly encountered her once: at a Christeene gig downstairs at the Soho Theatre a few years ago. Ripples of excitement went through the crowd when Westwood and her entourage arrived. Everyone knew they were in the presence of greatness!

/ Pictured: portrait of Westwood by Jane Bown, 1999 /