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‘Pink hair is my armour’: Zandra Rhodes on cancer, colour and the art of being fabulous

For almost 60 years, Zandra Rhodes has been one of Britain’s most flamboyant designers. She talks about her astonishing upbringing, being spurred into action by cancer and what she’s doing with her 6,000 dresses

When you visit Zandra Rhodes you don’t just walk into her flat, you’re invited into her psyche, stepping into the orange cubist block, crossing a sparkling terrazzo lobby and then rising up to a penthouse decorated in deep and dusty shades of pink. “The most difficult thing was actually facing my past, like my father’s background.” She’d never got on with her dad, who was less “classy” than her mum – “younger children are very snobby, aren’t they” – because she’d heard, growing up, that his mother had been a sex worker and was murdered by a client, a story that hovered grimly over her childhood. In the 70s, an American beauty company executive turned down a collaboration with Rhodes, saying: “Excuse me for saying so, but in my day women who dyed their hair were of dubious virtue.” Again, bemusement – her mother had impressed on her the importance of fashion and flamboyance, hence gifting her the name “Zandra”.

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