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Vans x Frida Kahlo lookbook: First look at the new collaboration
Shoe collection pays homage to painter’s trademark style
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Your support makes all the difference.Fans of the late Frida Kahlo now have a whole new way of expressing their adoration for the legendary artist.
On Wednesday, Vault by Vans – the footwear brand’s premium offering – unveiled a special shoe collection that pays homage to the painter’s trademark style.
Known best for her colourful self-portraits and homages to Mexican culture, the Vault by Vans x Frida Kahlo collection brings a selection of the artist’s paintings to life on classic Vans silhouettes.
Kahlo employed a folk-art, almost surrealist style to explore questions of identity, post-colonialism, gender and class as well as to reflect her personal struggles as a disabled woman.
The capsule collection consists of three pairs of trainers, all of which reference Kahlo’s works and come in the Vans Vault LX form, meaning they feature a combination of premium materials and finishes.
The OG Sk8-Hi LX shoe feature’s Kahlo’s self-portrait, Las Dos Fridas, which depicts two figures holding hands, representing the two sides of the artist's dual heritage.
The image is also thought to symbolise the artist’s divorce from Diego Rivera as it shows two sides of the Kahlo, one in a traditional Tehuana dress and the other in a more contemporary outfit.
The trainer is printed around the canvas area and finished with a dark green upper and toe cap.
The OG Authentic LX is emblazoned with one of Kahlo’s still-life pieces, Viva la Vida, which features pieces of cut watermelon and is reported to have been made just eight days before her death in July 1954 as a tribute to her life.
The shoe is finished with embroidered details and white shoelaces.
Completing the collection, the OG Slip-On LX features Kahlo’s most well-known painting from 1940, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.
It is believed that Kahlo used symbolic elements in the image to express her feelings, including a bird to symbolise freedom and life.
The Slip-On is contrasted by a black canvas mid and rear section, a white sole and a green and red split tab.
This isn’t the first time Vans has launched a collection in honour of an artist.
In 2018, the brand created a range of trainers in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum to celebrate the works of the revered Ditch painter.
The collection included trainers emblazoned with some of Van Gogh’s most recognisable pieces including Sunflowers, Almond Blossom and Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman.
The Frida Kahlo x Vault by Vans collection will launch on 29 June at select Vault by Vans retailers.
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