Appearances Can be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo

The exhibition Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The dresses of Frida Kahlo is the first of its kind to be dedicated to the artist’s wardrobe. This show presents an interpretation of Frida Kahlo through the dresses discovered in her bathroom at the Blue House in 2004. This exhibition explores the Mexican painter’s identity as expressed by the visual image she constructed, based on the garments she chose. 

Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The dresses of Frida Kahlo proposes that her heritage and disability were two of the basic components that sustained the painter’s taste for traditional Mexican garb. 

The rediscovery of Kahlo’s garments has placed her wardrobe at the center of contemporary fashion debate. Frida’s style has inspired international designers such as Riccardo Tisci, or Jean-Paul Gaultier. The latter based his 1998 spring-summer collection, titled Tribute to Frida Kahlo, on the artist’s wardrobe. Today, Frida Kahlo continues to act as a source of inspiration to designers, building a bridge between past and present.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving was curated by Circe Henestrosa and designed by Judith Clark.

Imagery: Appearances Can be Deceiving, 2012 : The Dresses of Frida Kahlo, Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City. Courtesy of Judith Clark Studio.