Zandra Rhodes is back with a new handbag collection

Legendary designer Zandra Rhodes continues riding the momentum.

After her spring runway show — her first in 20 years — won rave reviews in London last season, Rhodes signed a licensing agreement with Girari Design to produce a collection of handbags and small leather goods for this fall. Featuring her signature squiggles, patchwork, vivid colors and a logo-embossed safety-pin zipper pull, the collection is a mix of new shapes and vintage prints.

“You don’t want what just seems like just another bag,” says Rhodes between media stops with her bags which sparkle plenty — thick gold chains, voluptuous tassels, oversized crystals, embellished frames and silk-screened prints of some of her vintage motifs.

The collection will sell for $165 to $795 and includes totes, clutches, shoulder bags, wallets and makeup bags. The line is targeted toward upscale boutiques and specialty stores, such as Barneys New York, which currently carries her collection of printed tops (she was wearing one herself, along with hologram tights and a striped fox jacket of her own design).

Ever versatile, Rhodes continues living part-time in Solana Beach and London and manages her multiple design duties: as a porcelain designer for Royal Doulton; a costume designer for the San Diego Opera and the Houston Grand Opera; and, tonight, as a lecturer at Woodbury University. Her topic: “My Life Long Love Affair with Textiles.”