You probably know her story from Frida, where she was played by Salma Hayek. Madonna supposedly loves her work so much that she carried one of her paintings in a specially made case on tour with her for years. A friend of mine once owned one of her most famous works, “The Little Deer” and when I visited her I would always pay my respects to the tiny masterwork. Sixty years ago when Kahlo died, her artist husband Diego Rivera ordered her clothes be locked up for 15 years. When Diego passed three years later, a philanthropist, art collector and old friend of the couple, Dolores Olmedo became the manager of their houses and she kept all of Kahlo’s belongings locked away for decades until she too passed away ten years ago in 2004 when the time capsule of a fashion icon was finally unlocked. For the first time ever, Frida Kahlo’s closet was on display at her museum and former home, La Casa Azul in Mexico City. Here’s some vintage evidence of that great style including male drag.
