Frida

Kahlo
IDM | FC Fashion
Styling (Editorial) |
Simran Sharma | KD V
 About:
• Frida Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda
Kahlo y Calderón on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán,
Mexico City, Mexico. She was considered one of
Mexico's greatest artists who began painting
mostly self-portraits after she was severely injured
in a bus accident. She exhibited her paintings in
Paris and Mexico before her death in 1954 and is
still admired as a feminist icon.
• After Kahlo’s death, the feminist movement of the
1970s led to renewed interest in her life and work,
as Kahlo was viewed by many as an icon of female
creativity.
• “I paint myself because I am so often alone and
because I am the subject I know best.”
Frida Kahlo – Fashion As
The Art Of Being

• Fashion is an optical effect that Kahlo employed

with shrewd intelligence and artistic intention, and
her original, multicultural aesthetic made her the
centre of attention wherever she went. This vibrant
tribute to Frida Kahlo's bold character, style, art,
and fashion reflects the kaleidoscopic ways her
unique story and personality have been interpreted
and adapted as few others in our time.
BREAKING DOWN FRIDA
KAHLO’S ICONIC LOOK:
FASHION’S DISABILITY
FRONTIER

• The beautiful horror of Frida Kahlo’s impaled body,

kissed with gold all over like a divine fresco, is one
that speaks to her life as a disabled person, in which
fashion and adornment could make beauty out of
pain, and ultimately allow the artist to take possession
of her situation. The time spent peering into the
mirror contributed to the creation of a self-image that
would not be defined by suffering. Much like a
generation of young people today, Frida knew how a
constructed self-image could empower; The more
incapacitated Kahlo became, the more colourful and
attention-seeking the outfits were she took absolute
charge of her own image and represented herself,
rather than merely being a subject of a non-disabled
gaze.
Frida’s makeup
•
Kahlo worked on her iconic image even as a very young woman. Her
defiantly untamed moustache and monobrow also celebrate the masculine
aspects of her persona. Kahlo focused on her face and hair—centre-parted
since girlhood, she later crowned her coiffure with silk and metallic floral
nosegays. The flowers in her hair become a crown, a motif that runs from
politics to fairy-tale.
• Makeup was another weapon in her personal armoury: Frida Kahlo loved hot
pink lipstick, the colour of crushed hibiscus blossoms, of flor de Jamaica, of
bougainvillea vines crawling over stucco walls. Her chosen shade, at least
later in her life, was Revlon’s “Everything’s Rosy,” Kahlo regularly matched
her lips to her nails to the blooms in her hair: crimson, magenta, bubble gum.
• Makeup was another weapon in her personal armoury: Frida
Kahlo loved hot pink lipstick, the colour of crushed hibiscus
blossoms, of flor de Jamaica, of bougainvillea vines crawling
over stucco walls. Her chosen shade, at least later in her life,
was Revlon’s “Everything’s Rosy,” Kahlo regularly matched
her lips to her nails to the blooms in her hair: crimson,
magenta, bubble gum.
• These kinds of details—the colour of nail polish Kahlo liked
to wear (Frosted Snow Pink) or her perfume (Guerlain’s
Shalimar, Schiaparelli’s Shocking) or how she stayed
moisturized (Pond’s lanolin Dry Skin Cream)—might distract
from her work. But they also offered a glimpse of an artist’s
private rituals - a way of connecting to her daily practice.
The Tehuana and
European Influence
• Kahlo was always proud of being Mexican, and she
draped herself in traditional garments:
rebozos, tomicotones, and maximalist Mazatec tunics;
Tehuana outfits: a boxy blouse embroidered with
flowers, a scarlet broom skirt, substantial gold earrings. 
Despite wearing Mexican textiles, Frida also had
European heritage from her father, she used to combine
blouses or skirts in a more European style with the
Mexican ones, making her outfits one of a kind.
 Her Own Fashion
• Frida was very aware of her whole persona. She
used to modify her clothing and add things to
make them unique and help her express how
brave and original she was; She would always
wear three or four socks on her thinner calf, and
shoes with a built-up heel, to redress the balance,
a pair of heeled boots notable for, along with the
uneven heel height, their cut-out toes on one of
the shoes – customised by Kahlo so her swollen
toes could breathe.
• Particularly striking is an image of the prosthetic
leg she had to wear after an amputation in 1953.
In typical Kahlo style, it’s dressed flamboyantly:
• She also painted the chalky surface
of the corset that she had to wear
with a red hammer and sickle and
the tender image of a fetus where
her womb would be. Frida’s
relationship to the corset is one of
support and need – her body (was)
dependent on medical attention –
but also one of rebellion.    
Comfortable Fashion
• Mexican boxy huipil blouses were made without fastenings and could drop
loosely over a back brace or plaster cast, which was comfortable for Frida
since she had to wear plasters and orthopedic corsets to help with her
posture, which was permanently damaged. These kinds of blouses with
plentiful embroidery and the heavy jewelry draw the eye of the viewer to
the upper part of the body, helping Frida be more confident in herself by
distracting people from the lower part of the body. Their short length was
well suited to working while seated, whether in a chair, bed or wheelchair. 
• The long flowing skirts were also a useful and comfortable way to cover
her legs and their motion helped conceal her limp, so that they weren't as
visible  as when she was little and kids used to bully her and call her
“Frida Kahlo, pata de palo” (Peg leg Frida).  
• In San Francisco, she bought Chinese cloth and
embroidery panels that were integrated in her
wardrobe, alongside Guatemalan sashes and coats.
Frilled shirts, heavy necklaces of jade and coral,
and pinned flowers all directed attention where she
wished it to fall.
• Her style and life are intertwined – she loved
clothes for how they made her look and feel, but
she also used them to both mask and highlight
aspects of her identity. Kahlo’s deep connection to
clothes was acknowledged by those closest to her.
When she died in 1954, aged 47, her husband,
Diego Rivera, locked up the room in which her
clothes were stored, where they remained for 50
years.
 CONCLUSION -
WHY FRIDA IS AN
INSPIRATION?
• Frida Kahlo offers and adds a distinct vision to taboo subjects,
such as maternity, sexuality and the social position of women.
Her courage and strength, her stand as a feminist is relevant in
contemporary times – even after her 111th Birthday;
• The bold ideals of Kahlo reflected in her style showed that she
didn’t dress to impress anyone. She did it for herself. The
brightness of her clothes demonstrated her will to survive
despite her misfortunes and the passion for her work. She took
what was in fashion, or appropriate for the time, and made it
her own.
• She teaches us the art of looking inwards and becoming your
own muse – her self-discovery gifted us her many self-
portraits. She showed us the importance of understanding
oneself, learning to accept the difficulties and emotional ups
and downs of life, accepting them and you are the subject that
you know the best.
Frida as a style icon - Visual research
Frida
Kahlo
IDM | FC Fashion
Styling (Editorial) |
Simran Sharma | KD V