While many women dash to electrolysis or maintain a standing appointment with a waxer, Frida Kahlo proudly— and beautifully, we might add — skipped out on hair removal treatments. In fact, when she was photographed for the cover of French Vogue in the late 1930s, she wore her signature braided hairstyle, red lips, and a unibrow. This unconventional beauty was famed for her artistic talents, and her legacy is stronger than ever.
To find out more about Frida, keep reading.
A visitor looks at Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait as Tehuana or Diego on My Mind" in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition, which is the biggest showing of Kahlo's work in Germany ever, is open to the public from April 30 to August 9. If you find yourself in Berlin, check it out!
Recession or no, we can always expect Riccardo Tisci to give us dark, gothic clothing for a fall season. In this Pre-Fall 2009 collection Tisci was influenced by two famous Latin women (Preuvian diva Yma Sumac and Frida) and their confident severity served as his jumping-off point. Periwinkle Chanel-like booties help lighten things up a bit. As with everyone this season, it's all about the accessories.
I have, uh, grave feelings about this makeup and skincare collection. The Frida Kahlo line has launched, complete with a boutique in Staten Island. Kahlo, a Mexican painter whose work is appreciated by art historians and feminists alike, has inspired the collection of mineral makeup, body lotions, and antiaging and antiwrinkle face creams.
Frida died in 1954, and recently the Kahlo family granted the name and image rights to Naturals Skin Care, the company that developed the line. The CEO, Antonio Sciortino, spent time reading Kahlo's private journals before developing the line. "Reading her letters was a life-changing experience for me. She was very much into
aromatherapy herself — mixing and creating her own makeup and lotions," he said.
While I think it's cool that a unibrowed, mustachioed woman is being hailed as a beauty icon, I can't help but think that Frida herself wouldn't love the commercial aspect of this brand. (After all, she was a communist.) What do you think of this endeavor? If you're an art aficionado, would you add any of these products to your permanent collection?
