Frida Kahlo

When we think of style icons, Frida Kahlo is probably not the first person to come to mind. Most of us had probably not even heard of her until Salma Hayek starred in her movie. Born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico to a German father, Frida Kahlo was destined for controversy and fame. Her father Guillermo Kahlo was born in Germany but migrated to Mexico in 1891 at the age of 19 and her mother Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez was of indigenous and Spanish descent. Frida had three sisters and remained close to her dad through most of her life. In 1910, the Mexican Revolution began and Frida would claim she was born in this same year so people would associate the revolution with her.

When Frida was six years old, she was infected with polio which made her right leg thinner than the other; she learned to disguise this by wearing long skirts or dresses. Adding to this, Kahlo suffered a car accident when she was 18 that left her spinal column and pelvis broken in different places. It was during this time of recovery that she began painting as an emotional and spiritual outlet. Most of her paintings are self-portraits and they are very graphic clearly showing her pain and suffering. Because of her accident, Frida was never able to have children and would even have a leg amputated years later. Frida married the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera in 1929, divorced him in 1939, and remarried him in 1940. Frida Kahlo was openly bisexual and had many extramarital affairs with both men and women.

We can still see Frida Kahlo’s influence in fashion today; take for example an editorial from last year’s Mexican Vogue. Many fashion designers have also drawn inspiration from the tragic Frida Kahlo including Anna Sui, Sussane Bisovsky, Liu Xing, and Armando Mafud. Frida Kahlo loved mixing different eclectic patterns and prints, primitive styles, and bright colors both in her paintings and clothing. Frida loved to wear long skirts, indigenous blouses, and braids interwoven with big hair accessories such as bright flowers or head bands.