Artwork
Trouser Suit Print
Trouser Suit Print is a print by Hormazd Narielwalla. It dates from 2018 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Hormazd Narielwalla made *Trouser Suit Print* in 2018. It’s a print, not a painting. The artist spent years in a tailor’s cutting room, where he saw brown paper patterns filled with overlapping lines and notes.
Those patterns become his art. He turned flat garment templates into layered, coded drawings. Later he added historical dress patterns to the mix.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
These industrial drafting materials became the foundation of his artistic practice, transformed from functional tools into visual narratives.
Created in 2018, Trouser Suit Print is a limited-edition print by Hormazd Narielwalla, derived from a collage that reimagines Frida Kahlo through reconstructed garment patterns. The work emerges from his years working in a Savile Row tailor’s atelier, where he encountered the layered, annotated paper templates used to construct clothing. These industrial drafting materials became the foundation of his artistic practice, transformed from functional tools into visual narratives.
Subject & Meaning
The print centers on a stylized figure of Frida Kahlo, drawn from her self-portraits, dressed in invented ensembles that blend cultural references and historical tailoring. Narielwalla’s costumes are not literal reconstructions but symbolic assemblages, constructed from fragments of commercial pattern papers and annotated sewing templates. The work explores identity, craft, and the hidden labor embedded in clothing, positioning Kahlo as both subject and architect of her own image.
Technique & Style
Narielwalla constructs his prints by layering cut sections of vintage and modern sewing patterns with printed textiles, creating dense, textured compositions. The underlying grid of pattern lines—once used to guide cutting and fitting—becomes a visual language of measurement and memory. Digital and screenprinting techniques preserve the hand-cut quality of the original collage, while gold foiling adds subtle emphasis, echoing the precision of tailoring without compromising its raw, assembled character.
History & Provenance
The work originated from a 2017 commission by a London design studio to reinterpret Frida Kahlo’s wardrobe, which led to a subsequent commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum for the 2018 exhibition 'Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up.' Twelve collages were produced for the show, with Trouser Suit Print among those selected for reproduction. The prints were made available in limited and open editions through the V&A shop, extending the exhibition’s reach beyond its physical space.
Context
Narielwalla’s practice bridges the worlds of fashion craftsmanship and contemporary art, drawing from the often-overlooked materials of garment production. His use of pattern paper—typically discarded after use—elevates these functional documents into historical artifacts. The work resonates within broader conversations about the politics of dress, gender, and cultural representation, particularly in relation to Kahlo’s own use of clothing as personal and political expression.
Legacy
Trouser Suit Print exemplifies how artisanal techniques can be recontextualized as conceptual art. By preserving the marks of tailoring—annotations, folds, and seams—Narielwalla transforms industrial processes into intimate visual histories. His work has contributed to a growing recognition of fashion drafting as a legitimate medium for artistic inquiry, influencing how institutions and audiences perceive the relationship between clothing, identity, and material culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hormazd Narielwalla makes bold, colorful prints that layer sharp shapes and playful patterns.
