Fall/Winter 2000

Woman's Evening Coat

Zandra Rhodes considers herself a fabric designer first and foremost. Her textiles use images from nature or from cultural or historical sources that she refines into idiosyncratic, personal designs. In 1969, after manufacturers rejected her textile designs as too flamboyant, Rhodes set up her own business, teaching herself to construct garments determined by her fabric designs. While many of these are screen-printed on sheer fabrics, this coat, made in conjunction with Pologeorgis Furs, uses soft velvet patterned by applying a chemical to burn out the pile but leave the ground. The coat's hem is cut according to the shape of the pattern, called Knitted Tasseled Diamond.