Frida kahlo clothing style. A moment of retro: how Frida Kahlo created her legendary look. Flowers in hair
Yes, Mexican Frida Kahlo was born more than a hundred years ago, but it might seem that her influence on modern fashion is only getting stronger every year. An artist in a traditional South American dress first appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in 1937, and - on a rare occasion - the entire issue was dedicated to her! Today, an outfit in the spirit of Frida is not only one of the most popular Halloween costumes (even Beyoncé wore it), it seems that the trends that Kahlo set at the beginning of the 20th century are gaining relevance.
Inscriptions and slogans on clothes
Popular T-shirts with prints and slogans begin their history in the early 70s, when Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren revolutionized fashion with the release of T-shirts with political statements of the civil rights movements and the campaign for nuclear disarmament. They quickly became a fashion hit.
However, Frida Kahlo, 50 years before Westwood, came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bdecorating clothes with slogans and drawings. True, she painted not T-shirts, but corsets. After the young artist had an accident and suffered a spinal fracture, she had to wear plaster corsets for many years. It was on them that she painted political symbols, slogans, as well as Mexican nature - flowers and wild animals. Between 1940 and 1954, she wore 28 different corsets. So it was Frida who was the first to come up with the idea to paint clothes.
Popular
Men's suit and androgynous fashion
In family photographs with sisters, cousins \u200b\u200band parents, Frida always appeared in a man's suit. Until the mid-20s, this gesture was considered defiant. One can only imagine what the mother said to young Frida when she put on a man's suit for family photos. Only 60 years later, the pair of trousers will become familiar, as in Woody Allen's film "Ann Hall" with Diane Keaton - the actress who popularized oversized jackets, loose trousers and ties. Frida's contemporaries recall that the artist not only often wore a man's suit, she did not recognize "masculine" and "feminine" at all - she smoked cigars, could swear and professed free love.
Eyebrows
Throughout the twentieth century, women of fashion stubbornly got rid of excess facial hair. Remember the phrase: "A woman's eyebrows should be as thin as a thread!" And only for the last 10 years, wide natural eyebrows have been in trend, and the most daring imitate Cara Delevingne.
While Greta Garbo and other Hollywood stars plucked their eyebrows, Kahlo not only left them natural, but also darkened them on purpose with the help of cosmetics, carefully drawing each hair. Even then, Frida knew: thick eyebrows are sexy. Frida's monobrow then looked very unusual and defiant, but that is what she wanted.
Traditional Dresses
Traditional Mexican outfits are the most recognizable part of Frida's wardrobe. Most often, the artist wore the embroidered teuana dresses, popular in southern Mexico. Today, something like this can often be seen on Instagram, and more and more designers are turning to South American sources of inspiration. Bright birds, flowers and geometric shapes, natural fabrics - wool and cotton - are more relevant today than ever. Frida also loved to wear Tehuana dresses because her mother, who was indigenous to Mexico, loved to wear the dress. The artist painted several self-portraits at once in this outfit.
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Mexican-style dresses are only part of the artist's huge influence on contemporary fashion. Her art inspired one of the most futuristic designers of our time, Jean-Paul Gaultier, to create an entire collection. It happened 90 years after her birth. And the famous costume of the alien Leelu from The Fifth Element is completely copied from one of Frida's paintings.
Large necklaces
Frida Kahlo was a big fan of flowers, bright colors and antique stones. One of her favorite necklaces is the pre-Columbian jade necklace. The artist often created unique jewelry on her own. Colored statement jewelry is still at the height of fashion today. The vibrant colors and quirky designs on them are an element that can be combined with almost any outfit, it will help to make the outfits that you have worn much more effective.
Scarves and slings
Another recognizable detail of Frida Kahlo's wardrobe is the colored Mexican rebozo scarves. The artist wore this accessory not only around her neck, but also woven it into her braids. Fringed scarves were produced in Aztec villages and decorated with embroidery. They were used as slings for carrying children, and Mexican revolutionaries secretly smuggled weapons into them. The scarf was even a symbol of freedom. Fringe and pompons are in trend now, we recommend!
Cascade of golden chains
Until recently, several gold chains with pendants at once would have been considered inappropriate, but for several seasons in a row, a cascade of gold chains of different lengths with medallions and pendants can be seen on the neck of almost every second fashionista. On display at the Brooklyn Museum is Frida's necklace of this style. Aztec gold, coins and medallions - the artist did not skimp on jewelry. Nowadays, you can wear a chain necklace in different ways - over a T-shirt or sweater, or as an addition to a dress with a deep neckline.
Color block
The artist's color-blocking dresses have inspired generations of designers. Not only Gaultier, but Roland Mouret, Chris van Assé and Riccardo Tisci were inspired by Kahlo's style and art. Frida's famous dresses, consisting of two contrasting colors, are on display at the Brooklyn Museum. The bold trend, built on a combination of two color blocks, has been popular for many years in a row, and in the spring of 2019 interest in this direction will increase again. This season, the combination of toxic, almost neon shades will be at the height of fashion. Frida would definitely like it.
A woman with a tragic fate and boundless love for fashion was forced to wear clothes that did not emphasize her figure, but, on the contrary, hid her. At the age of 6, Frida Kahlo suffered from polio, which changed her body forever: as a result of the disease, the girl's right leg became much shorter and thinner than the left. The future artist began to hide her physical ailment under long tiered skirts, initially in monochrome colors.
At the age of 18, Frida had a terrible accident: the bus she was traveling on collided with a tram, and a metal handrail pierced her basin through. As a result - a spinal fracture, 40 operations and two years in bed with no hope of ever getting back on his feet. However, the predictions of the doctors did not come true, and Kahlo not only began to walk, but also to dance, write self-portraits and pose for photographers - in patterned and lace blouses, skirts of all colors of the rainbow, printed outfits (which many girls would now envy) and national Mexican costumes. Teuan dresses (after the name of the Tehuantepec region) were not so much a tribute to the roots of Frida as a means of hiding imperfections - a bright ornament distracted attention from the imbalances of the body and made the image exotic.
The exhibition of paintings at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg once again attracted interest in the work of Frida Kahlo, the most famous Latin American artist, style icon of the 20th century and a symbol of a strong woman. She lived a bright and complex life and her work is completely original - be it art, fashion or personal style. She is often called the progenitor of selfies, most of her paintings are self-portraits. At 18, after a terrible accident, she was bedridden for a year. Her father brought her an easel and attached a mirror so that she could see and draw herself, and then Frida the cripple begins to transform into Frida the goddess ... All her life she will experience physical pain as a result of her injuries and fractures. But she will draw strength from creativity and love and will become one of the most outstanding women in the world.
The viewer is always interested in the artist's personal style. Frida chose bold clothes that emphasized her personality. She is especially known for her eclectic mix of national Mexican motives - Ibright straight blouses with patterns, long skirts with ruffles and embroidery, a massive headdress made of flowers and ribbons and a huge amount of jewelry become her hallmark in art and in life. And rethinking jewelry is a creative technique.The starting point for Frida's image is her wedding with Diega Rivera, a famous Mexican monumentalist painter, to which Frida came in the national, or, as they would say now, "ethnic" dress of her maid. From that moment on, Frida also experiences constant mental pain - marriage with Diego turned out to be difficult and painful. It was reinforced by the inability to have children - another fatal consequence of the accident. All this is reflected in her numerous self-portraits.
Frida Kahlo. Self-portrait with necklace of thorns and hummingbird, 1940. Art Collection of the University of Texas, USA... This picture was not at the exhibition in St. Petersburg)) Art critics note that Kahlo's simple white dress hints at martyrdom, and the necklace - at the crown of thorns of Christ. The butterflies on Kahlo's head are interpreted as symbols of her own resurrection - for this reason, Frida was accused of blasphemously comparing herself to Jesus Christ. Bright hummingbirds hovering over flowers in Mexican culture symbolize love and luck, freedom and life, but the lifeless black bird in the picture hangs like a cross from her necklace of thorns, and her black wings echo like the spread of Frida's eyebrows. A black cat behind her left shoulder, a symbol of bad luck and death, prepared to jump ... Behind her right shoulder is a black devil monkey, presented to Frida by her husband Diego ...
Many consider the black monkey in Kahlo's paintings to be the symbol of Diego Rivera, whose marriage brought much suffering to the artist. In some paintings, the monkey's paw wraps around Kahlo's neck like a black "clawed" necklace. Frida Kahlo often mixes the symbolism of Mexican and Aztec cultures in her works. An alternative interpretation of the hummingbird is the symbol of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war, and the bleeding wounds are the result of Frida's struggle for her love. Often Frida Kahlo's art is classified as surrealism, the artist herself did not think so - "... I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."
In the funeral offerings of Monte Alban, images of female deities are found. The archetype of the goddess involuntarily evokes thoughts of her similarity with the image of Frida Kahlo. The Snake Goddess with attributes: kichkemitl cape, jade rosary, headdress in the form of a braided braid. The name is depicted as a breastplate. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Photofrom here
Frida Kahlo wore an outfit in the style of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca). The Zapotec Indians live here, as in Monte Alban. Frida's mother - Matilda Calderon, a native "Chilanga", was born and lived in the capital of Mexico, in turn, her mother is Spanish, her father is Indian. Frida's father is described in different ways - either a German Jew or a Hungarian German. In any case, Frida Kahlo's blood was a really explosive mixture. However, Frida Kahlo identified herself in the first place. with Mexican culture.
Frida Kahlo's costumes from her museum in Mexico
The photograph in the artist's studio in the Blue House shows the painting "Two Fridas" on the wall, in which she is depicted in European dress and ethnic Mexican costume. The painting was painted after a divorce from the artist's husband, Diego Rivera. They are holding hands, both are heartbroken. The image of Frida in a Mexican dress is a kind of creative and programmatic manifesto of the artist and a symbol of the period of her life with Diego. This image of Frida Diego admired. But what is this, no matter how an attempt to escape from the captivity of the image and the recognition of the impossibility of tearing one Frida away from another? - they have one circulatory system)) Soon Diego and Frida will marry again, but the relationship will remain difficult. Although, of course, they were connected by love and affection.
In the Blue House in the capital of Mexico, where the artist lived and died in 1954, only at the beginning of the 21st century did employees gain access to her wardrobe and jewelry. The blue house (Mexico's national color) became a museum for Frida Kahlo after the death of her husband Diego Rivera in 1957, however, according to Diego's will, his friend Dolores Olmedo did not give the keys to the bathroom where Diego put his wife's belongings. There were kept her dresses, shawls, shoes, Indian jewelry, photographs taken by her father Gulermo Kahlo, corsets.The bathroom, where Frida's wardrobe was kept, was opened in 2004, its restoration continued for 8 years ...Frida Kahlo's jewelry and outfits are a phenomenon in art and fashion. But what shaped this bright and original artist all her life was hidden under her clothes. Perhaps one of the reasons why Diego did not want his wife's wardrobe to become public.
Only in 2012, with the participation of Mexican Voque, an exhibition of the artist's clothing and jewelry was organized. She introduced Frida Kahlo's wardrobe through the lens of disability and the empowerment of the crippled. The exhibition focused on Kahlo's journey through fashion, her feminist and socialist beliefs, through her attempts to disguise severe trauma with the bright and loose clothing of Mexican Indians. The exhibition was titled "Frida Kahlo's Wardrobe. Appearance can be deceiving." Most experts believed that Frida wore Mexican clothing to please Diego. However, the story of Frida's misfortunes began even earlier - at the age of 6 she suffered polio, was bedridden for a long time, as a result, her right leg was less developed - thinner and shorter than the other. Even at school, Frida was used to disguising her sore leg, wearing several socks on her sore leg and special orthopedic shoes. Mexican skirts are another feminine trick to hide their flaws. Researchers found a photograph of her mother's family wearing what is commonly referred to as the Tijuana (Tiwan) style, but the researchers believe it is a more accurate nameTehuantepec by the name of an area in the Southwest of Mexico in Oaxaca ... The photograph proves thatFrida was familiar with this style even before meeting Diego.
A buckled corset and a prosthetic for the right leg are on display in the museum named after her in the Blue House, where she lived with her husband and where her workshop was located. A year before her death, Frida Kahlo's right leg was taken to the knee.
On the isthmus of Tehuantepec, you can still see local women in traditional costumes c a heavy set of jewelry. Matriarchy reigns there, womendominate culture and manage social life. Frida Kahlo didn't just choose a dress from Mexico. She chose a dress that symbolizes a strong and independent woman.Thanks to the intricate decoration on her head, Frida distracted attention from her legs. However, any of her clothing items is so specific that it would make a splash today. Frida was ahead of her time and used both contemporary fashion and traditions to emphasize her individuality and create her own image. Another feature of Frida is that the worse she felt, the more jewelry she put on herself, the brighter and more colorful her outfit was.
When Frida started wearing traditional dresses, her life underwent major changes. In 1929, she married Diego Rivera, one of the best Mexican painters, who was 20 years her senior.
Frida's accessories and decorations in the Blue House.
Among Frida's jewelry there is a lot of silver - she loved silver jewelry, along with jewelry, simple jewelry in the Mexican style, beloved by the artist, appears. Frida Kahlo collected and wore pre-Columbian jewelry. She wore many necklaces of stones, more often of rough work.Kahlo's jewelry collection was very impressive, her friends loved to give her jewelry, in turn she gave out a lot of them.
Gold necklace from the Frida Kahlo Museum
Modernists recalled the artist's bright red nails. On her left hand, she wore many rings, not necessarily expensive - although any jewelry looked spectacular on her. Frida usually had a brush in her right hand, so she rarely wore rings.
Rings, Frida Kahlo Museum
Frida and Diego Rivera
Frida Kahlo. Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931
Frida Kahlo. Mother Earth. Self-portrait with Diego.
Diego Rivera. Portrait of Frida Kahlo, 1940
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA
Diego Rivera. Portrait of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo, self-portrait with hoop earrings
Frida Kahlo. Self-portrait with blue beads, 1933.
The ancient Maya wore images of hands as amulets.
Frida Kahlo. Self-portrait dedicated to Dr. Eloesser, 1940. A gem among Frida Kahlo's jewelry is the hand-shaped earrings given to her by Pablo Picasso.
Frida Kahlo's unique style made her a muse of fashion))
Self-Portrait with Loose Hair, 1947
Photographer Nicholas Murray
Frida Kahlo, photographer Nicholas Murray, 1939
Self-portrait with a monkey, 1938.The monkey is a symbol of lust in Mexican mythology. But in this picture she is depicted as a being with her own soul. The animal is affectionate and gentle, he hugged Frida's neck and wants to protect her. As in many other paintings, tropical plants and green leaves serve as the background.
Self-portrait with a monkey, 1940. The darkness in the voids between the leaves speaks of the darkness and darkness in the soul of Frida herself. A blood-red ribbon is woven into the hair, it wraps around Frida's neck 4 times and once around the monkey's neck. After her divorce from Diego, the artist is haunted by a feeling of claustrophobia, she wraps ribbons, necklaces, grapes or the long arms of a monkey around her neck in her self-portraits, which threaten to strangle her. To emphasize the kinship, Frida draws a monkey's paw as an extension of her braid. But despite the fact that the artist emphasizes the bonding feelings, the effect of the canvas is sinister. Frida's 1940 paintings are dominated by yellow colors, which enhance the harsh mood. This yellow is not sunny. It makes black even more sinister.
On the example of this picture, one can judge Frida's peculiar approach to color, she wrote about this in her diary.
Green: warm and nice color
Reddish purple: The color of the Aztecs. Old blood of prickly pear.
Magenta is alive and the oldest.
Brown: The color of earth and fallen leaves
Yellow: madness, illness, fear. At the same time, the color of the sun and joy
Cobalt blue: purity and love
Black: nothing really is black
Green foliage color: leaves, sadness, science. Germany color
Greenish yellow: madness and mystery. All phantoms wear this color ... or at least lingerie
Dark green: the color of bad news and good business
Dark blue: distance.
Magenta: Blood? who knows!
Miguel Covarrubias and Frida Kahlo in San Angel, Mexico City, 1938. Photo: Nicholas Murray
Frida Kahlo with Leon Trotsky and his wife. Frida was a communist and even changed her date of birth from 1907 to 1910 to be the same age as the Mexican revolution.
Portrait of Frida Kahlo, photographer Karl van Vechten, 1933
Frida Kahlo, photographer Edward Weston, 1930
Frida Kahlo, American woman photographer Imogen Cunningham, 1931
This photo shows Frida cutting her beautiful long hair after Diego's betrayal with her sister, 1934
This is a fake photo created by photographer Robert Toren in 2012, combining a photo of the singer Donnet Thayer and a photo of Frida in 1931
The ideas of Frida Kahlo's paintings are encrypted in the details, background)) The symbolism of her paintings is based on national traditions and is associated with the Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period, which Frida knew perfectly. Diego and Frida collected authentic pre-Columbian monuments all their lives, which are still in the garden of the Blue House. In the same garden, they built an Aztec-style pyramid. Among the stone idols and Indian masks hides a real rarity - a stone slab with a ball ring, an ancient Mexican Indian game in which the captain of the losing team was sacrificed)
Although Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, survived the revolution of 1910-17, a strong European influence was still felt in the country. Frida and Diego advocated the preservation of national traditions, local art and culture - even in the garden, they gave preference to Mexican plants - there grew agaves, cacti, prickly pears, orange and apricot trees, quince and pomegranate. Frida almost always decorated her hair with fresh flowers.
Frida Kahlo died of pneumonia, a week after celebrating her 47th birthday, on Tuesday July 13, 1954. Although there is another version - Frida wanted to part with her body, which caused her so much pain and never return to it. The next day, loved ones collected her favorite jewelry, including antique necklaces from pre-Columbian times, cheap, simple things made from seashells that she especially loved, and put them all in a gray coffin.
In 2006, the film "Frida" was shot with Salma Hayek, from which the next round of increasing interest in Frida Kahlo began. Below is the trailer for the movie.
Julie Weiss, a costume designer, bought inexpensive jewelry from street vendors for the film, including coral and pearl earrings, stone necklaces, including amber.
Salma Hayek, the artist in the film "Frida", wearing a necklace belonging to Frida Kahlo.
The image of Frida Kahlo was admired by Pablo Picasso and Leon Trotsky, exhibitions of her work were held in different cities of the United States and in France.This image will attract the attention of leading designers and fashion designers of the 20th century))Elsa Schiaparelli created the dress "Madame Rivera", Valentino's collections were created in the style of Frida, Jean-Paul Gaultier in 1997 released a collection on the theme of Frida and the Virgin of Guadalupe for Givenchy. Frida's style is perhaps the most common to follow and various interpretations in art and fashion.
Amber necklace from the collection of Eduard Gars, more about the collection
Frida loved jewelry, believed in their special power and became a source of inspiration for many jewelers. Eduardo Garza, impressed by his visit to Mexico and the Frida Museum, created a collection of jewelry based on the use of symbolic materials of the Aztecs and Mayans - ancient amber beads and Aztec jade coins. These are sacred stones of the pre-Columbian era - at that time there were no banks and people wore valuables on themselves :)) He claimed to have penetrated the secrets of the ancient Mayan jewelry art and the symbolic meaning of Frida Kahlo's jewelry.
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And in conclusion, a few words about the exhibition. 34 paintings by Frida Kahlo seemed a little)) Lack of understanding, but a strong desire to understand the artist's work at the exhibition was already felt at the entrance, where the first crowd gathered at the wall with letters, the second besieged the TV behind a stand with photographs, where the film "Frida in front of Frida" was shown - if you are going to go to an exhibition, look at home on the Internet. You can also watch 10 documentaries and a Hollywood film with Saima Hayek "Frida")), there was a feeling that people came to the cinema, so I added a link to it at the end of the post)) the film is good))) The exhibition was dedicated to another Frida - her tragic side of life, the selection of paintings is almost the best possible)) below are a few photos from the exhibition))
My Nurse and I, 1937. Allegory of Mexico, Mother Earth
Portrait of Doña Rosita Morillo, 1944. Mother of the collector of Frida's works. Needles and threads are associated with the threads of life and the fabric of fate. Doña Rosita is the oldest woman in the family. The cactus in flowers is the Mexican tree of life and a symbol of a strong family. The brown leaves symbolize old age and death. Earrings in the ears are interesting - these are golden lunars.
On June 6, 1907, one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo, was born. Self-portraits occupied an important place among her works. As the artist herself said, she painted herself, because she spent a lot of time alone and studied herself well. And she created herself - her style, without exaggeration, can be ranked among her works. The site takes this masterpiece apart and tells how Frida Kahlo became the Frida Kahlo we know.
Monobrow
In the early twentieth century, as today, women tried to get rid of "extra" facial hair. But Frida Kahlo was not an ordinary woman and was not going to follow the general rules. Of course, she perfectly understood how unusual and defiant her unibrow and dark hair above her lip looked. Kahlo not only did not remove them, but specially darkened them with the help of cosmetics, and carefully painted every hair in her self-portraits. It was a personal riot.
Mexican folk dresses
Frida Kahlo's dresses at the artist's museum in Mexico City. Photo: AP / Alexandre Meneghini
Frida began wearing luxurious traditional Mexican dresses at the request of her husband, the artist Diego Rivera. A convinced communist, he worked a lot with folklore. Frida Kahlo - as we know her - became his most monumental work. More precisely, their joint - Rivera set the vector of her future style, and she picked up and began to create herself. Bright embroidered dresses suit her very much - it's hard to imagine that before meeting with Rivera, Kahlo was dressing quite in the spirit of her time, according to the European fashion of the 1920s.
Experiments with a men's suit
However, Kahlo did not always look feminine. She had a lot of masculinity in her - and in her youth she sported in strict men's tweed suits. In family photographs, Frida often appeared in the form of a stern young man with burning eyes on a dark complexion. Shalila Frida not only with the help of costumes - according to numerous testimonies, there were many features in her behavior that are traditionally pleasant to consider as masculine. For example, she used to swear a lot and with pleasure, did not let go of a cigarette from her fingers, and had great respect for strong alcohol. Today, a woman is unlikely to surprise someone with such behavior, but for the first half of the twentieth century it was much more unusual than fused eyebrows or antennae on a woman's face.
Long skirts
Frida loved traditional dresses so much because they helped her hide her legs. They were all right, except that due to the traumas suffered by the artist, one of them was shorter than the other. In 1925, the bus in which Frida Kahlo was traveling collided with a tram. She sustained serious internal injuries, multiple fractures of the spine, ribs, pelvis and right leg. Miraculously surviving, she spent a year in bed and was unable to restore her health until the end of her life.
Boots with bells
Frida Kahlo's prosthesis at the artist's museum in Mexico City. Photo: AP / Alexandre Meneghini
Frida's right leg was broken 11 times. For a long time, the artist had to wear a special prosthesis. She was calm about the fact that after the treatment the right leg remained shorter than the left one by a few centimeters. Frida put on her poor feet in red boots decorated with embroidery and beads. The difference in length was compensated for by the heel of the right one, and the ringing of bells sewn into the lacing, which was heard at each step, reminded of the suffering suffered.
Communist corset
Frida Kahlo's plaster corset at the artist's museum in Mexico City. Photo: AP / David Goldman
Fractures of the spine for a long time chained Frida in a plaster corset that covered her from neck to hips. Frida did not put up with a corset - she mastered it, turned it into part of her suit. On the chest, the artist depicted the emblem of her political views - a red hammer and sickle. And under them, on her belly, she drew an unborn child and an umbilical cord. Motherhood was her most passionate dream, which never came true - in that very accident, a bus handrail ripped through her stomach and uterus.
Mexican jewelry
Fragment of the painting "Self-portrait dedicated to Dr. Eloessor" (1940)
Frida complemented the bright colors of dresses with traditional Mexican jewelry - massive necklaces, beads in several rows and, of course, unusual earrings. The white earrings in the form of human tassels, which the artist depicted in her ears in Self-portrait dedicated to Dr. Eloessor (1940), were indeed in her personal jewelry collection. They got her as a gift from Pablo Picasso. According to traditional Mexican ideas, such decorations serve as a talisman.
Flowers in hair
We are accustomed to the "iconic" image of Frida Kahlo - with a crown of braids twisted around the head and exuberant floral wreaths. This is not her personal invention - such hairstyles were worn by Mexican women for many years before Frida was born. To make the braids more voluminous and impressive, she weaved strands of colored wool and bright scarves into her hair. And the shade of flowers that she added to her hair always matched the color of the lipstick. Today, such a hairstyle can hardly be called only Mexican - thanks to the advertising that Kahlo did to her, women all over the world clean their hair in this way.
Fragment of the painting "Self-portrait with cropped hair" (1940)
Short haircut
Of course, the artist did not always look like that either. In her youth, she wore rather short hair, and cut her hair every time she quarreled with Diego Rivera or found out about his betrayal (both were not distinguished by their loyalty to each other, but at the same time Calo was acutely worried about the news of her husband's next romance). In the famous "Self-portrait with cropped hair" (1940), she captured herself at just such a moment.
The life of the famous Mexican artist was filled with pain and beauty. At the age of 6, she suffered from polio, after which she remained lame for life. At the age of 17, Frida got into a car accident - her abdomen and uterus were pierced with a metal bar, which forever closed the possibility of motherhood for her, and the plaster corset became her second skin due to a serious spinal injury. But despite the horrific injuries, Frida survived. She couldn't walk for a whole year. At this time, the artist's talent was revealed in her - a special easel was made for Frida so that she could write lying down, and a mirror was installed on the ceiling. Not surprisingly, her first work was a self-portrait. In the future, she chose this particular genre as the main one in her work.
Frida Kahlo "Henry Ford Hospital", 1932
Frida Kahlo "Self-portrait in the style of Tijuana", 1943
Frida Kahlo "Self-portrait dedicated to Dr. Eloesser", 1940
On the canvas, Frida each time created her double - the embodiment of female beauty in Mexican style with all its pretentiousness, strangeness and brightness. There, in the looking glass, she was a goddess, but in real life - a cripple. It is not known exactly when the line between life and art was erased, but Frida's husband, the artist Diego Rivera, is considered to be the catalyst for a wonderful transformation, who saw great potential in a nondescript lame girl painting herself.
As a result, Frida Kahlo made herself a work of art. The basis of her image was the traditional costume of the Indian tribe of Tijuana, where Frida's mother was from. It consists of three elements: a straight-cut blouse and a voluminous floor-length skirt, decorated with intricate embroidery, as well as a massive headpiece made of flowers and ribbons. The costume is complemented by a huge number of bracelets, necklaces and rings. Frida reinterpreted the traditional image, combining it with the fashion trends of his time - 1930s - 50s. Much later, a similar trend in fashion will be called "fusion".
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Vogue cover with Frida Kahlo (1937)
Frida Kahlo was admired on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Her exhibitions were held in Paris and New York, her appearance excited the imagination of such great artists as Pablo Picasso, and in 1937 Vogue magazine featured a photo of Frida on the cover, proclaiming a style icon. In the future, Frida was inspired by many designers, including Elsa Schiaparelli with her famous dress "Madame Riviera" and Jean-Paul Gaultier, who created in 1997 a whole collection in the Mexican style.
Gautier dress inspired by Kahlo
And now it is worth considering the details on which a special style called "Frida Kahlo" rests.
1930s Hollywood glamor
A flowing, straight, silk floor-length dress with elegant batwing sleeves is the epitome of 1930s Hollywood chic, paired with vibrant lipstick and nail polish. Frida successfully combines this look with ethnic jewelry and a permanent headdress.
La petit robe noire
Of course, in this case it is difficult to talk about the influence of the Chanel style. This little black full-length dress with long sleeves is more like a church dress. And the connection with tradition is emphasized by ethnic embroidery on the chest.
Mexican dreadlocks
Sometimes ribbons and flowers in Frida's hairstyle replaced artificial strands woven into a braid and vaguely resembling dreadlocks. It is difficult to say what colors they were, but knowing Frida's love for bright colors, we can assume that they are red or blue.
Shawl
Frida brought a voluminous shawl-scarf into her image not from the national Mexican costume - the fashion for Persian shawls arose in Europe in the middle of the 19th century .
Blouse with polka dots
The fashion for peas appeared in the 1920s, and for thirty years the excitement around the pattern did not stop. Frida did not ignore this innovation.