After almost half a century gathering dust, one of the most legendaries and unique wardrobes the world has ever seen has been revealed, and it is breathtaking.
We are talking about Frida Kahlo’s clothes. One of her most remarkable features, among many others. After she passed away, in 1954, her husband Diego Rivera locked up all her garments into the bathroom of their home, The Blue House. He gave orders that the room should remain sealed until 15 years after his own dead, which took place in 1957. It was not until 2004 that we could see not only Kahlo’s breathtaking outfits but also interesting facts about herself and her inspiring relationship with fashion.
Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako was invited to photograph what seemed to be the most intimate artifacts Kahlo used in her daily routine. She did an amazing work capturing the essence of over 300 unseen historical items.
One of Kahlo’s best kept secrets
After Rivera passed away, Dolores Olmedo, an art collector and old friend of the couple, became responsible for managing their houses. This also included The Blue House, a.k.a. The Museo Frida Kahlo, where she secretly kept locked Kahlo’s belongings, despite Rivera’s instructions. The room was finally unlocked in 2004 when Olmedo passed away. It Unveiled Kahlo’s historic fashion treasures such as clothing, headpieces, jewelry, and corsetry.
Almost all her garments were especially personalized by herself, mainly to adapt them to her poor physical condition. She suffered polio as a child, which left her leg disfigured. She also suffered a near-fatal bus accident when she was 18. This lead to over 30 operations and even a leg amputation. Also, all that sewing and stitching helped her distract from all the pain she suffered.
Kahlo wore long dresses to hide her lower body deformities. She also painted her casts and corsets she wore through her multiple chirurgical procedures and even customized the heels of their boots so they could conceal the length of her legs. Kahlo designed and decorated her prosthetic leg after the amputation. She canalized her pain and suffering through her unique clothes and pieces, which became one of the many iconic aspects of her artistic and creative personality.
Take a look of Kahlo’s most impressive clothing pieces
1. Traditional Tehuana dress
Kahlo used to wear long and elaborate dresses to hide her uneven lower body and the scars caused by all the operations she went through.
2. Decorated cast corset
After her bus accident, the painter wore throughout her life a lot of different casts and corsets, which she painted and decorated, naturally.
3. Fringed boots
Kahlo’s customized fringed boots, the right one with a stacked heel
4. Decorated prosthetic leg
She designed her own prosthetic leg after she lost her leg. Embroidering a red lace-up boot, painted, and decorated with a bell.
5. Cat-eye glasses
Classic cat-eye glasses, worn by the artist.