Zandra Rhodes + SFO’s Aida = Fabulous Costumes
by Christie Connolley
Zandra Rhodes, I just love ger name. I could just say it over and over, each time drawing more emphasis to the Z. Sorry, got lost in her name there. Anyway, textile artist Zandra Rhodes is featured in a piece by the San Francisco Chronicle regarding her collaboration with San Francsico Opera on this season’s production of Aida.
“Now nearly 70, the innovative British textile artist first lit up the London punk fashion scene in the ’70s with her bejeweled safety pins and later with her zingy, original hand-screened chiffons, tulles and silk. She’s done runway collections, linen and china patterns, cosmetics, jewelry and greeting cards. An educator, lecturer, textile arts museum founder and subject of a new book about her pioneering work, she’s always having a moment. “If I stopped to smell the roses,” she says, “I might as well fall asleep.”
She lives life large on two continents, shuttling between homes and studios in London and Del Mar, near San Diego, where she lives with her longtime partner, Salah Hassanein, a retired Warner Bros. executive 20 years her senior. These last few weeks, she’s added SFO to the route, spending time here putting the final touches on the costumes for Verdi’s “Aida,” which opens the San Francisco Opera‘s 88th season Friday.
It’s a natural fit, this grand melodrama set in ancient Egypt and the colorful artist who long has played with pharaonic motifs in her flamboyant prints. “It’s amazing to work with someone you’ve been taught about in school,” said Jai Alltizer, senior production supervisor for opera costumes. “You know how some people look like their pets? She’s like her fabrics, whimsical and easy.”
