vans releases frida kahlo sneakers featuring some of her most famous artworks

vault by vans has released a sneaker collection honoring the influential painter frida kahlo. the lace-up and slip-on trainers feature some of the mexican artist’s most famous artworks including ‘self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird’.

images courtesy of vans

known best for her self-portraits and works inspired by mexico, the collection brings a meticulously curated sampling of the iconic artist’s paintings to life onto classic silhouettes. heavily influenced by mexican heritage, frida kahlo employed a naïve folk-art style to explore questions of identity, post colonialism, gender, class and race in mexican society. 

the trio of sneakers showcase a different painting of the artist. the OG slip-on lx features kahlo’s 1940s ‘self-portrait with necklace of thorns and hummingbird,’ while her 1939 self-portrait ‘las dos fridas’ is displayed on the OG SK8-hi lx — the brand’s classic high top sneaker.

the collection was done in partnership with banco de méxico and the images were approved by the frida kahlo corporation. this isn’t the first time vans has partnered with a cultural institution to create art-inspired sneaker collections. last year the company partnered with the vincent van gogh museum in amsterdam on a collection of shoes and apparel inspired by the dutch artist’s masterpieces.

vans’ frida kahlo sneakers launch is available at select vault by vans retailers from june 29.

project info

company: vault by vans