What Frida wore: the artist's wardrobe locked up for 50 years – in pictures
After Frida Kahlo died in 1954, her husband Diego Rivera shut her belongings in a bathroom at their Mexico City home, the Blue House – then demanded it be locked until 15 years after his death. In fact, the room wasn’t opened until 2004. Ishiuchi Miyako was invited to photograph its intimate contents when they went on show at the Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico City in an exhibition curated by Circe Henestrosa. Here are the artist’s beloved belongings, from sunglasses to handpainted corsets
- Frida by Ishiuchi Miyako is at Michael Hoppen gallery, London SW3, from 14 May to 12 July
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#50Classic cats-eye glasses worn by Kahlo
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#2Kahlo’s right leg was thinner than her left after childhood polio – and it was later fractured in 11 places when she had a horrific bus accident in her 20s. As a result, she wore long, traditional Tehuana dresses that concealed her lower body
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#34Kahlo’s fringed boots, the right one with a stacked heel
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#53The artist’s portable ashtray
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#40Orchids to You and another nail polish
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#84Bathing suit in mint green
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#23After her bus accident, Kahlo was in a full body cast for three months, and she remained in pain for the rest of her life. She painted her casts and corsets, turning them from medical equipment into artworks
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#27Kahlo’s friends noted that the more pain she felt, and the more incapacitated she became, the more elaborate her outfits were
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#36Kahlo’s leg was amputated in 1953. She designed this prosthetic leg with embroidered red lace-up boots and a bell attached
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#3One of the corsets worn by Kahlo
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#15A skirt of green silk and lace attached to a body corset
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