Frida Kahlo Inspired | Burda 7/2015 #115 Top

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I sewed this piece for Sewn magazine. The piece is based on Frida Kahlo and I tried to channel her look. My husband was tickled pink at helping me with this photoshoot! We had fun trying to be Vogue -esque. My first Frida inspired sewing project was my BHL Anna dress followed by this top. The full pattern review for Burda 7/2015 #115 can be found here as I have sewn this pattern several times so far.

Tell us something that you how or admire about Frida and why you were inspired to create the garment you are submitting for this feature. If you learned something new because of the feature let us in on what you learned.

Frida Kahlo’s wardrobe came to the V&A in London and I took the opportunity to go see it. Frida’s clothes were the pinnacle of the exhibit. As a sewing blogger my interest was captivated by the ornate embellishments, however, despite the beauty of the selection of clothes on display, it was the room with her accouterments that had the most impact on me. The breathtaking clothes were juxtaposed with all the turbulent imagery of her medical paraphernalia.

The steel and leather corsets, the prosthetic leg that was made for her amputated leg; all driving home the incredible amount of pain she endured in life. She defied society’s standards of beauty. I entered the exhibit a Frida fashion fan but I left filled with incredible awe of her resilience, fortitude, her innate love of life in the face of pain and suffering; I left with a vow to live the best life I possibly can. To be daring and courageous in my creativity.

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Her imagery constantly reinforces to me that whatever life throws at you, you have a choice: to create or to wallow. Frida chose to create through her pain. She chose to remain unapologetically authentic. She inspires me. The Frida pictures in my sewing cave are a tangible reminder of her fearless nature. Her affinity to irresistibly colourful motifs mirrors my love of bold colours.

The bright yellow and orange of the Alexander Henry print is evocative of the iconoclasts that Frida created and was displayed at the V&A. The simplicity of the top is vaguely similar to the freely flowing huipils that she favoured after her accident. Giant ric rac is a fun addition to capture the sense of flow of creativity that happens when I sew – it ebbs and flows much like the ric rac shape!