Knitted Circle
Evening Dress
1969 (designed and made)
1969 (designed and made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Zandra Rhodes studied textiles at the Royal College of Art, where she met Sylvia Ayton, and together they opened the Fulham Road Clothes Shop in 1967. Their shop sold some of the most innovative designs to be found in London boutiques.
This kaftan-style dress comes from Zandra Rhodes' first independent collection, called 'Knitted Circle'. The collection consisted of garments made with her distinctive, hand- printed silks designed with motifs taken from knitting and embroidery stitches. Zandra Rhodes later wrote 'I made swirling, dramatic shapes with no concessions to the saleable, the acceptable or the ordinary. The true Rhodes style came into being'.
This dress was worn by Irene Worth in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Edward Albee's play Tiny Alice staged at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1970.
This kaftan-style dress comes from Zandra Rhodes' first independent collection, called 'Knitted Circle'. The collection consisted of garments made with her distinctive, hand- printed silks designed with motifs taken from knitting and embroidery stitches. Zandra Rhodes later wrote 'I made swirling, dramatic shapes with no concessions to the saleable, the acceptable or the ordinary. The true Rhodes style came into being'.
This dress was worn by Irene Worth in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Edward Albee's play Tiny Alice staged at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1970.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Knitted Circle (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed silk chiffon |
| Brief description | Evening dress of printed silk chiffon, designed by Zandra Rhodes, Great Britain, 1969. |
| Physical description | Printed silk chiffon dress, constructed with a high-waisted bodice, long full sleeves, and long skirt. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Credit line | Given by Miss Irene Worth |
| Object history | This particular dress is Butterfly No 11, cat no Z6 as depicted in Rhodes' 1984 autobiography (1984). A photograph of a hooded version dress being modelled by Myroslava Prystay in a David Bailey photograph from Vogue, 1969, appears on page 25. Myroslava's identical twin sister, Oxana, is wearing another dress in the V&A collection (see T.223-1993) Reference: Rhodes, Zandra and Knight, Anne, The Art Of Zandra Rhodes, London, 1984 Registered File number 1993/879. |
| Summary | Zandra Rhodes studied textiles at the Royal College of Art, where she met Sylvia Ayton, and together they opened the Fulham Road Clothes Shop in 1967. Their shop sold some of the most innovative designs to be found in London boutiques. This kaftan-style dress comes from Zandra Rhodes' first independent collection, called 'Knitted Circle'. The collection consisted of garments made with her distinctive, hand- printed silks designed with motifs taken from knitting and embroidery stitches. Zandra Rhodes later wrote 'I made swirling, dramatic shapes with no concessions to the saleable, the acceptable or the ordinary. The true Rhodes style came into being'. This dress was worn by Irene Worth in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Edward Albee's play Tiny Alice staged at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1970. |
| Bibliographic reference | Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971
no. 208 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.357-1974 |
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| Record created | April 27, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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