On Saturday we had the pleasure of popping down to one of our favourite shops in Liverpool Boudoir Boutique to meet the fashion legend that is Zandra Rhodes. We were greeted at the shop by owner Louise Kavanagh and her daughter Amy Louise Keating who very kindly let us take some pictures of their beautiful shop and had a little chat with us before we sat down with Zandra.
Louise who previously owned Drome also of Cavern Walks opened Boudoir Boutique seven years ago and the shop is now somewhat of a Liverpool landmark, not only popular with Liverpool fashionistas but also fashion mad tourists too. The shop is a beautiful, eclectic space full of beautiful clothes, antiques, accessories and all out wonder. The shops moto 'in here life is beautiful' certainly rings true. The shop stocks a lot of up and coming and established labels exclusively, including Unreal Fur, Finders Keepers, Forever Unique and one of DiscoFashionArts favourites Parisian designer Manoush. The shop also stocks their own designs including some beautiful kaftan's, furs and other vintage inspired pieces.
The store also exclusively stock Zandra Rhodes current handbag and accessories collection.
Just as we were finishing the tour of the shop, the lovely Zandra arrived and we sat down and had a lovely chat with the fashion icon.
Zandra what brings you to Liverpool and in particular Boudoir Boutique?
I am in Liverpool purposely to visit this store, its a personal favourite and I have visited the store before. I think its an ideal place to sell my accessories collection as it is so beautiful and a joy to be in. I also like to meet my fans and find out what they enjoy most about my designs.
You were one of the new wave of British designers who put London at the forefront of the international fashion scene in the 70's. Who are your current favourite designers and who do you think are pushing fashion boundaries today?
I think there are a lot of brilliant designers coming out of the UK today and I definitely think Britain are the current leaders in fashion. However, when I am designing my own collections, which I am in the midst of now I find it hard to focus on anyone else so I can't say a particular designer.
You famously designed clothes for Freddie Mercury, Madonna, royalty and numerous other celebrities, is there anyone you would like to dress now.
I really enjoyed dressing Madonna in the 80's and 90's and would love to work with her again now, but the person I really admire and would like to dress now is Lady GaGa, I really like her style and desire for fashion and beauty.
We love your current accessories collection its full of classic pieces. What was your inspiration?
I wanted to create pieces that are classic and would go with a variety of outfits. We went for classic colours and shapes in high quality leather. We took inspiration from the 1920's and F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby with art deco shapes and detailing.
Tell us more about the Digital Study Collection and what drove you to do a digital project.
The Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection was created through a collaborative project between the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and myself. The collection was officially launched at the Fashion and Textile Museum in March 2013 by actress and my friend Joanna Lumley. I studied at one of UCA's founder colleges, the Medway College of Design, and was made the University's first Chancellor in 2010. Over the last fifty years my work has included the design of haute couture dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth Taylor, and Diana Ross and I wanted a way of storing this British Fashion History so fashion students can access it in the future.
The Digital Study Collection provides unique online access to images of 500 iconic dresses and garments, for use in learning, teaching, and research internationally, by fashion historians, fashion and textile designers, and fans of my work alike. These images were selected out of thousands of couture pieces
held in my private archive at my studio in London. The digitised garments cover my entire creative career from the late 1960s to the present day, with particular focus on my landmark collections of the 1970s and 1980s.
Thanks Zandra its been a pleasure meeting you!
The digital Study can be found at
We can honestly say meeting Zandra has to be a highlight for DiscoFashionArt and we thank everyone at Boudoir Boutique for putting on this fabulous event!
Visit the store now in Cavern Walks or visit their blog at
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