Cover Circe Henestrosa (Photo: Natsuko Teruya)
Circe Henestrosa (Photo: Natsuko Teruya)
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Head of the School of Fashion at Lasalle College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, and one of the tastemakers on our Asia’s Most Stylish 2024 list, Henestrosa merges her personal connection with artist Frida Kahlo with her extensive curatorial experience to explore intersecting themes of identity, disability and cultural heritage
While Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is widely recognised for her distinctive appearance, characterised by her iconic unibrow, bold red lips and, often, elaborate Tehuana dresses paired with flowers in her hair, many may not fully grasp the depth of her artistic oeuvre or her suffering that shaped her life and work.
This is why exhibitions such as Laid Bare: Frida’s Inner World hold such significance. Held at the ArtScience Museum from May to September this year, it offered an intimate exploration of Kahlo’s life and her remarkable resilience in transforming a lifetime of chronic pain into artistic expression. It also delved into the often‑overlooked narrative of her complex medical history, showcasing a collection of documents, photographs and contemporary artworks, providing a deeper understanding of how her experiences influenced her work and identity.
Bringing a unique perspective to this exhibition was its co‑curator Circe Henestrosa—fashion curator; head of the School of Fashion at Lasalle College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore; and a Kahlo expert.
In case you missed it: Home Tour: A Colourful Mexican House Pays Tribute To Frida Kahlo And Latin American Culture
Above Kahlo and her surgeon Dr Juan Farill with her 1951 painting ‘Self Portrait with the Portrait of Doctor Farill’ (Photo: Gisele Freund)
Kahlo and her surgeon Dr Juan Farill with her 1951 painting ‘Self Portrait with the Portrait of Doctor Farill’ (Photo: Gisele Freund)
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Her deep connection to Kahlo stems from her childhood in Mexico City, where she grew up hearing stories of the artist. Her family’s ties to Kahlo run even deeper: her great‑uncle Andres Henestrosa and great‑aunt Alfa Rios were part of the circle of intellectuals surrounding Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, in the 1930s and ’40s.
“Alfa was one of those elegant and distinct women from that mythical region known as the Tehuantepec Isthmus, a matriarchal society in southeast Mexico where women administrate the culture and dress in Tehuana attire,” Henestrosa shares, adding that some of the vibrant Tehuana dresses that Kahlo adopted as a symbol of her identity were gifted to her by Rios. Growing up surrounded by these dresses and their cultural significance, Henestrosa developed an appreciation for their beauty and symbolism.
This early connection with Kahlo would later intertwine with Henestrosa’s professional path. Her career trajectory took a significant turn when she relocated in 2005 from Mexico to London. Prior to the move, she had dealt purely in the realm of arts, but that year, a visit to Judith Clark’s Spectres: When Fashion Turns Back exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum ignited a passion for fashion curation. She later acted on that spark and enrolled in the Master of Arts programme in Fashion Curation at the London College of Fashion—the second Master of Arts degree she pursued while working for the British Council in London (the first being a Master of Arts in Cultural Leadership from City, University of London). It was at this point that her personal connection with Kahlo and her expertise in curation converged.
Above A photo of a postcard sent by Kahlo from New York to Dr Leo Eloesser, her lifelong friend and medical adviser (Photo: Museo De Filatelia De Oaxaca)
A photo of a postcard sent by Kahlo from New York to Dr Leo Eloesser, her lifelong friend and medical adviser (Photo: Museo De Filatelia De Oaxaca)
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“Being a wearer of the Tehuana dress myself, I wanted to know why Frida had chosen this particular dress as her signature look,” she recalls. This new‑found focus led her to Singapore in 2007 and today, she stands as the head of the School of Fashion at Lasalle College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, shaping the next generation of designers and contributing significantly to Singapore’s fashion landscape.
Henestrosa’s passion for Kahlo’s life and work later led her to curate groundbreaking exhibitions such as Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo, held at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City in 2012. It marked the first exhibition of Kahlo’s wardrobe, addressing her disability and ethnicity as central to her identity construction through fashion.
In 2018, Henestrosa further expanded her curatorial perspective with the blockbuster exhibition Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up, held in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. “I discussed how [her] experiences of disability [as well as her] ethnicity, political outlook and queer identity informed [her] art, life and style,” she explains. In fact, Henestrosa’s curatorial prowess proved so influential that it sparked a major fashion house’s collection—a feat few curators can claim. Dior’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, was so moved by her Frida Kahlo: Beyond Appearances exhibition, shown in Paris’s fashion museum Palais Galliera in 2022, that she invited Henestrosa to collaborate on the brand’s collection for Cruise 2024.
Above An exhibition view of ’Laid Bare: Frida’s Inner World’ (Photo: Artscience Museum)
An exhibition view of ’Laid Bare: Frida’s Inner World’ (Photo: Artscience Museum)
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The resulting collection drew inspiration from Kahlo, who served as the muse for transforming Tehuana dresses into full skirts and huipiles, and incorporating androgynous touches and interpretations of traditional Mexican attire. The collaboration came at a pivotal time, as the Mexican government had issued a law to protect indigenous communities and their textile material culture in January 2022.
According to Henestrosa, “Mexico had suffered from many previous plagiarism cases, so [it] was an excellent opportunity to collaborate respectfully and on an equal footing”. Henestrosa is full of praise for the Dior team, who, despite the tight timeline of only three months to produce the collection, showcased commendable commitment to collaborating effectively with the Mexican communities involved. “We did this project with the Mexican artisans’ consent [and] involvement, [and there was] excellent compensation for their work,” she shares, adding that “everything had to be produced in Mexico”.
Through her extensive research and curatorial projects, Henestrosa’s understanding of Kahlo has deepened significantly. “As I continued working with her personal objects, more and more visual cues appeared from the archives, allowing me to understand how all her modes of creative production informed her artistic practice and her persona,” she says. Her family’s connection with Kahlo as well as her work with the artist’s orthopaedic devices and prosthetics have also fostered a curatorial philosophy rooted in empathy and inclusivity. This is reflected in her exhibitions and her PhD research, where she developed a framework for showcasing inclusive and often overlooked aspects of fashion.
Looking back on her career, Henestrosa considers her Kahlo exhibitions as pivotal achievements that have significantly impacted her. “[They’ve] defined my voice as a curator,” she says. “[Along] the way, I’ve had the support of many women who believed in me and my vision.” At present, Henestrosa is excited about upcoming projects that promise to further enrich her curatorial practice. “I’ll reveal them soon,” she teases, hinting at new opportunities to explore the intersection of fashion, culture and identity.
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Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
