London, 25 February 2026 - Bonhams is delighted to announce the online sale A Celebration of Textiles, 16 - 25 February 2026, a unique multi-departmental auction that explores the enduring power of textiles across cultures and centuries, from ancient fragments to modern masterpieces. The sale will be accompanied by a dedicated exhibition at Bonhams' New Bond Street showroom, offering an immersive display that brings together historical textiles, contemporary fashion, and textile art.
Among the standout pieces are those consigned from Dame Zandra Rhodes' archive, a pioneer of British fashion whose bold prints and theatrical designs have shaped contemporary textile art, with 15 of her works included in the sale. Featured in the sale is a striking Beaded Dress embroidered in the distinctive 'Bricks' design, from Rhodes' celebrated India Revisited Collection, Autumn/Winter 1985 estimated at £2,500 to 3,500. Also included is a 'Reverse Lily' and 'Field of Lilies' Kaftan-Style Chiffon Gown from 'The Lily' Collection, Autumn-Winter 1972-73 estimated £1,000 to 1,500, as well as a Silk chiffon dress, screen-printed in 'Feather Sunspray' print in green, black and pink on white from 1979 estimated £1,000 to 1,500.
Meg Randell, UK and European Head of Department Designer Handbags and Fashion at Bonhams commented: "A Celebration of Textiles weaves together an extraordinary breadth of material that reflects the ingenuity, symbolism, and cultural resonance of textile creation across centuries. At the heart of the sale are remarkable works by Dame Zandra Rhodes, whose visionary approach to printmaking and garment construction has had a profound impact on contemporary fashion. Her pieces illustrate not only her mastery of color and form, but also her longstanding commitment to elevating textiles as a sculptural, expressive medium."
Dame Zandra Rhodes commented: "I am absolutely thrilled to be auctioning a curated selection of my archive with Bonhams. It feels especially wonderful to be selling my historical garments, alongside matching textiles and original design sketches, showing the full journey of my work from hand-drawn textile print to unique fashion statement. With the expert eye of Bonhams' auctioneer Meg Randell, we have selected a truly spectacular array of pieces dating from 1969, the very beginning of my career, through the fabulous 1970s and 1980s. The selection centers around some of my most loved printed textile designs, including Feathers, Field of Lilies, and Peacock Frills. Proceeds from this special auction will go directly to supporting the work of the Zandra Rhodes Foundation in cataloguing my life's output and opening up my vast archive as a learning resource for current and future generations. I hope the items find treasured homes."
In conjunction, there will be an invite-only conversation held between Dame Zandra Rhodes and Natalie Gibson MBE, senior lecturer at Central St Martin's and mediated by Meg Randell the UK and European Head of Department Designer Handbags and Fashion at Bonhams, on 23 February.
Other Highlights Include:
•Ralph & Russo Haute Couture: a Bridal Gown Spring/Summer 2016, Runway Look 46, estimate: £6,000 to 8,000
o Over ten couturiers worked more than 2,550 accumulated hours to create this exclusive work of art bridal gown. The gown features over twenty-three different embroidery materials, millions of micro-beads, crystals, and pearls; a white and champagne layered tulle bridal gown with a three-meter train on both skirt and sleeves, hand-embroidered with floral silk and metallic threadwork, and three-dimensional glass bead flowers.
• A Bukhara silk embroidered linen panel (nim suzani) Uzbekistan, 19th Century. Estimate: £3,000 to 5,000.
• Tartans, Pattern Book, an album of pattern designs for Clan Tartans, [Edinburgh, J. Whyte, c.1845]. Estimate: £2,000 to 4,000.
o Scarce early pattern drawings based on those presented in Vestiarium Scoticum (1842) and The Costume of the Clans (1845), which established the patterns and colouring of all modern tartans.
• The Great Exhibition of the Works of All Nations (Commemorative Textile Print), color roller print on two sections of woven cotton, printed by William & George Orme, Soho, c.1851. Estimate: £2,000 to 3,000.
o A remarkable survival of a scarce textile roller print commemorating the Great Exhibition of 1851.
(Press Release)
