I have long been fascinated by the work of artist Frida Kahlo, an interest that became even stronger after I saw the film "Frida Kahlo" in the late 1980s. For several years, I have been working on a series of sweaters and jackets inspired by Kahlo's use of color, both in her paintings and her clothing.

Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón was born in her parents' home in Coyoacán, which at the time was a small town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Her father was a painter and photographer of German-Jewish descent, with roots in Oradea, Romania. When Kahlo was 18, she was involved in a serious traffic accident that nearly cost her life. After this traumatic experience, she began to paint, often drawing on her own experiences. Her works provide stark depictions of her own pain and the hardships of women, with 55 of the 143 paintings being self-portraits.

Kahlo was also deeply influenced by Mexican Native American culture, which she depicted in bright colors, with a mix of realism and symbolism. Her artwork caught the attention of artist Diego Rivera, whom she married, divorced, and then remarried. Despite overshadowing her throughout her artistic career, she became an international cult figure in the 1980s, and is probably more famous today than he.