Zandra Rhodes: a Navy Silk Chiffon 'Mexican Turnaround' Kaftan Dress 'Mexican' Collection, Autumn-Winter 1976-77 Darkest navy blue silk chiffon screen-printed in pale pink 'Mexican Turnaround' print, bat-wing sleeves with layers cascading from elasticated waistband and with ties to the front finished with delicate hot pink beads, Sample label, together with navy blue rayon slip (2) Approximately 26' waist, slip labelled English size 10, American size 8 Footnotes: Provenance From the Zandra Rhodes Archive All proceeds will go to the Zandra Rhodes Foundation. Zandra Rhodes' Mexican Collection was developed following a road trip through Mexico in 1975-76, during which she travelled by camper van from Los Angeles through the Baja Peninsula and into mainland Mexico. Immersed in the landscape, markets, and architecture, Rhodes documented her journey through photographs and sketches, focusing in particular on Aztec temples, brickwork, and market sombreros. As she records in her book The Art of Zandra Rhodes (1984): 'we found marvellous Aztec walls, arenas and temples. I drew over and over again details from the wonderful stonework where pebbles and coloured stones had been pressed as decoration into the cement in between the bricks' (p. 159). Rhodes described herself as absorbing the materials she encountered in Mexico, feeling that everything she had gathered was 'waiting for something to happen'. On returning to London, she began to abstract these architectural details, writing 'it was a particular work of Duggie Field's, itself inspired by Miró with the angular V's and lines with dots at the tips, which inspired me and finally led me to develop the material I had gathered, everything I had soaked up, and I added these motifs as the background. I felt they gave a dancing Mexican feel to the images I was using' (p. 160). Zandra Rhodes discussing the Mexican collection Mexican Turnaround print was developed from Zandra Rhodes' drawings of Aztec temples, building upon her recurring brick motif from her earlier design, which she adapted to incorporate 'the pressed-in Aztec pebble detailing and the dancing fields / Miró motifs being added' (The Art of Zandra Rhodes, 1984, p. 165). Conceived as a diamond-shaped design rather than a bodice layout, the print marked a significant technical and compositional development and informed later chiffon garments and subsequent collections. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing