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Zandra Rhodes has been a figurehead of British fashion since 1969, the year in which she founded her eponymous design house. Having begun her career as a textile designer before turning to fashion design, Rhodes's designs display a fascination with printed textiles; she is famous for her embroidered, beaded, and often hand-painted chiffons, and overtly theatrical clothes. Being placed amid a London fashion environment that appreciated the eccentric, and with brand advocates such as Natalie Wood, Liza Minnelli, and Princesses Anne and Margaret, Rhodes gained a committed following throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The designer founded London’s Fashion and Textile Museum in 2003, and was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2014.