The Frida Kahlo Wardrobe: The artist who wore art

Tsuktiben Jamir

Frida Kahlo, the extraordinary woman was born in New Mexico in 1907. She was an artist who poured her emotions into her art. But looking back, we also realise the vibrant, extravagant and unique wardrobe that made her stand out.

There are so many ways that Frida Kahlo has inspired people, especially women. This includes her fashion as well. For little girls when they were made to wear gorgeously embroidered shirts and gowns that they felt were frumpy, Frida reignited their desire in wearing what they felt good in. There was one place to look and realise that genes did not have to be a flaw of beauty when they came into full expression throughout adolescence behind the cover of a moustache. Today, we love and appreciate her for both her paintings and her sense of fashion.

However, the artist’s life itself was not always smooth sailing. Fashion gave Kahlo the mental fortitude she needed to overcome her physical obstacles. She was just 18 years old when she was involved in a near-fatal bus accident that required two years to recuperate from and left her with a lifelong suffering. Despite this challenge, she created wearable works of art from medical-related objects that she was prescribed.

After her passing in 1954, Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera kept away her possessions in the bathroom of her home in New Mexico. He was inconsolable and insisted that these belongings of hers be sealed away. After his death in 1957, they were kept hidden for almost 50 years. Dolores Olmedo, a long-time acquaintance of the couple, was appointed manager of their residences. For many years, she covertly maintained all of Kahlo’s possessions behind lock and key. When she passed away in 2004, the treasure chest-like fashion time capsule of an icon was eventually unlocked.

Among the approximately 300 objects that were found, ranging from traditional and non-traditional garments, jewellery, medicines and orthopaedic devices, one was a complete body cast she wore after the accident and painted so as to define it as something beautiful and not as something that is holding her back. Another was an artificial limb; she created a stunning thing out of the prosthetic limb she received after having her leg amputated in 1953, replete with a bell and crimson lace-up boot.

Her corsets were another thing of beauty and appreciation. It was necessary for her to wear them due to her medical issues, however, she reinvented them by decorating and adorning them, in a way making them seem like a conscious decision and incorporating them as a crucial component into the design of her appearance.

Frida was constantly inspired by her own emotions, realities, and battle with defining and defending her own identity. This made her explore her own self and externalising this through her colourful, unapologetic and intricately embroidered pieces of garments gave her the comfort and reassurance.

Frida Kahlo’s Wardrobe houses this exquisite collection of her distinct and heart-felt ornaments; it is definitely a sight to see. So, the next time you feel like you don’t know what to wear, you know where to look and draw inspiration from.