Frida Kahlo: The Art of Living Out Loud
When we began dreaming up our Fall Winter 2025 collection under the theme Rooted Courage, there was no question that Frida Kahlo would be among the women whose spirit we wished to honor. She did not just live in color - she fought in it. Not with fists, but with a brush, a brow, and a truth too wild to be tamed.
Frida was never quiet. Even in pain, especially in pain, she painted loudly. And perhaps that’s what drew us to her when designing our Frida Dress - a dress that holds the soul of creative rebellion, soft resilience, yet also self-expression.
Born in 1907 in Mexico City, Frida lived a life marked by physical trauma. Polio as a child. A bus accident at 18 that shattered her body. And yet, while confined to bed in a full-body cast, she began to paint - mirrors on her ceiling, brushes in hand, and dreams larger than any wound.
Her paintings were not for decoration. They were declarations of love, sorrow, survival, and sovereignty. She painted what others were too afraid to say - miscarriage, disability, desire, heartbreak, rage, politics, femininity, death, rebirth.
She once said:
“I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”
And in doing so, she gave other women permission to feel more fully human, more deeply whole.
Frida didn’t just paint with oils - she painted with her clothes. Long Tehuana skirts. Embroidered blouses. Flowers in her hair. Every detail was intentional. A reclaiming of her indigenous roots. A camouflage for her physical pain. A celebration of what it meant to be fully, freely herself.
Our Frida Dress draws inspiration from that spirit - offered in Burgundy Red, Black Pansy, and Fogwood Tartan, each one holds a kind of statement within it. Not flamboyance. But presence. Not drama. But dignity.
This is not a dress that whispers. It speaks with clean lines, structure that honors the body, and the ease to move through both joy and grief with grace. It’s a silhouette for artists, thinkers, and anyone brave enough to wear their truth on their sleeve.
Though Frida’s name now shines bright, she was once dismissed, sidelined as the wife of Diego Rivera. But even in that shadow, she made her own sun. And she wasn’t the only one.
Women like Tina Modotti, the Italian photographer and political activist, walked alongside her - photographing injustice, resisting oppression. Guadalupe Marín, Diego’s first wife, was another muse and force of fire. And later, women across the globe from Gloria Anzaldúa to Chicana artists in East L.A. would name Frida as the one who showed them how to carry both culture and creativity, grief and glory, in the same hands.
To wear the Frida Dress is not to imitate her, but to remember her. To remember that rooted courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes, it paints. It bleeds. It buttons up in the morning and says - I will still live beautifully today.
We hope this garment holds space for your stories. Your resilience and your voice.
Because Frida once taught us: “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” And maybe she was right.
