Frida was a singular and outspoken woman who, as a public figure, eschewed modern trends in favor of traditional mexican styles. Her self-portraits bravely displayed publicly her solitary thoughts and inner turmoil at a time (and in a culture) when a woman's thoughts were best kept to herself. Despite her catapult to fame, she never forgot that she was a Mexican woman, and this fact was apparent in every action that she took and every canvas that she painted. Her paintings and even her dress were infused with a mix of vibrant colors inherent in the indigenous cultures of Mexico and other traditional styles predominant in Mexico at the time.
Even today, fifty-something years after her premature death, she remains an influential style figure. Just look at the recent spread in Vogue Germany.
source: http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2010/02/vogue-germany-claudia-schiffer-as-frida.html
Honestly, I feel a little guilty juxtaposing images of the divine Frida Kahlo with German Vogue's images of a costumed Claudia Schiffer. These two do not warrant coverage on the same page: Frida was, as I've stated earlier, a singular woman who broke the barriers of her time and culture, while Claudia (in my opinion) was/is just a pretty face with a good body. But come on, guys and gals: it's VOGUE. Millions of women flip through the pages of the glossy every month. An editorial that graces its pages influences countless women, and by costuming a nineties uber model in a unibrow (which Frida adamantly refused to pluck) and traditional Mexican garb, millions of readers become inspired not only by the images created by the photographer, the clothing designer, and the stylist, but indirectly by the woman that initially inspired those artists as well, who in this case, would be our beloved Frida. Indeed, such a move on Vogue's part becomes quite the homage to the painter and political activist.
No comments:
Post a Comment