Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo's playful, maximalist style never dates. Much of her riotously colourful wardrobe was a glorious celebration of her heritage. She decorated traditional square-necked tunics called huipiles with embroidery and gems whilst framing her face with lace Juchiteca headdresses. Frida’s style was also highly androgynous, a style as old as gender itself. Early family albums show her in tailored suits with cropped hair, an aesthetic she called “desexed”.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
While Basquiat's art famously dealt with civil rights and racial discrimination in 1980s Manhattan, his wardrobe was relatively apolitical – but still highly covetable. He loved designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Armani, Issey Miyake and, of course, Wayfarer sunglasses which he would mix with old thrift store finds. Neither uptown nor downtown, his clothes defied social labels. Even his hairstyle was uniquely Basquiat, bald in the front with long locks at the back for many years. As the poet Rene Ricard once wrote, "Jean-Michel looked like art."
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