Ciara Lane
Shein recently launched a collaboration with the Frida Kahlo Corporation, which includes various items of clothing, along with a key ring, notebook, socks, pillow and tote bag featuring a portrait of the artist, in the vibrant, bold hues and florals which characterised her work. The fast fashion brand’s use of the socialist revolutionary’s art presents a striking contradiction.
The Collection
The brand introduced the collection as a ‘tribute from our SHEIN X designers to her art and originality’ and describes Kahlo as personifying ‘female empowerment, and authenticity.’ However, this commodification of her image, seen repeatedly over time by various brands, dismisses her anti-capitalist views, most likely because they undermine the very existence of the company, as a fast fashion brand.
The Politics of Frida Kahlo
Kahlo was a member of the Mexican Communist Party, reported to have fabricated her date of birth to align with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, and her coffin was even covered with a banner of the hammer and sickle, marking her contribution to the re-emergence of Communism in Mexico.
“a symbol of female empowerment, a feminist icon”
Her politics are widely known, and she is recognised as a symbol of female empowerment, a feminist icon who refused to alter her appearance to fit a narrow-minded standard of beauty. Her work was in many ways inherently political, and depicted experiences many women could relate to, as she drew inspiration from her own physical and emotional pain.
Shein’s Ethical Standards
While Shein recognises Kahlo’s symbolic significance in terms of art and feminism, the company does not appear to acknowledge its own existence as a contradiction to her anti-capitalist beliefs.
Shein’s practices are a clear example of the many problems of capitalism identified by its critics, with profits prioritised over the wellbeing and fair treatment of its employees. Good On You’s overall rating of Shein is ‘We avoid’, with both their Planet and People rating achieving a 1 out of 5, and their labour rating as ‘very poor’, with ‘no evidence it ensures payment of a living wage in its supply chain’.
“a direct contradiction of Kahlo’s beliefs”
The brand also received a score in the range of 0-5% in the 2022 Fashion Transparency Index, which is reserved for brands which disclose ‘nothing at all’ or a ‘very limited number of policies’.
Despite Shein’s lack of transparency, their unethical practices have been revealed to the public on various occasions. Most recently, Channel 4 found that Shein employees in the factories they investigated worked 18-hour shifts and received the equivalent of four cents per item for their labour, while the company’s revenues are estimated in excess of $10 billion annually. Shein workers’ shift patterns violate Chinese labour laws, which set a limit for workers to work no more than 40 hours a week, as the employees were only given one day off per month.
This mistreatment of workers under capitalist practices, and mass production of items made with cheap, unsustainable materials in pursuit of profit for corporations, is a direct contradiction of Kahlo’s beliefs, making the Frida Kahlo Corporation’s collaboration with the brand rather questionable.
The Frida Kahlo Corporation’s Involvement
The Frida Kahlo Corporation owns the trademark rights to Frida Kahlo’s name worldwide, and strives to preserve Kahlo’s art, image and legacy. The corporation’s website describes its licensing program as seeking ‘to expand her positive impact and inspiration of empowerment’.
“a surface level representation of empowerment”
However, allowing a fast fashion company which encapsulates the issues of capitalism which communism is critical of to use Kahlo’s artwork and likeness, and advertising this as empowering, is disappointing.
It not only disregards the marginalised employees producing these garments, but also Kahlo’s strong political affiliations, in favour of a surface level representation of empowerment.
Featured image courtesy of Tim Mossholder via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
