Hats off to Isabella Blow: The eccentric wardrobe of the late, tragic style icon (and Philip Treacy's muse) goes on display

Isabella Blow discovered designers Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy
She began her career as Anna Wintour's assistant at Vogue
Somerset House exhibition is called Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!
Close friend Daphne Guinness: 'It's what she would have wanted'

PUBLISHED: 11:59 EST, 9 May 2013 | UPDATED: 12:16 EST, 9 May 2013

Fittingly for a style icon, Isabella Blow’s clothes were eye-catching and eccentric. They were sights to be reckoned with.

And now Somerset House is set to celebrate the muse and stylist with an exhibition displaying 100 pieces from her wardrobe.

Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! will highlight her aristocratic background, growing up at the family seat in Cheshire, her championing of Treacy and McQueen, and her love of the British countryside.

Isabella Blow at the American Embassy in Paris (1998)

Isabella Blow by Mario Testino (1997), left, and at the American Embassy in Paris by Roxanne Lowit (1998), right

Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow, Burning Down the House (1996)

Blow, who died in 2007, was celebrated for discovering fashion designer Alexander McQueen and milliner Philip Treacy. She built up a significant personal collection of their work, as well as that of Hussein Chalayan and Julien Macdonald, among others.

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Bespoke mannequins dressed in full outfits worn by Blow will demonstrate her unique style.

Designers whose pieces will be on show in the exhibition include Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Philip Treacy, Dior, Prada, Viktor and Rolf, Manolo Blahnik and Marni.

Blow started her 30 year career auspiciously as an assistant to Anna Wintour at US Vogue. Even then, she steered clear of the conventional.

At Blow's memorial service, Wintour said that when Blow worked for Vogue she did everything fabulously, even cleaning Wintour's desk with Perrier water and Chanel perfume.

Isabella Blow and Philip Treacy for Vanity Fair (2003)

In the Nineties, Blow was Fashion Director of The Sunday Times, after which she moved to Tatler, again as Fashion Director.

But she began to suffer from depression, and in 2007, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ovarian cancer, Blow committed suicide aged 48

She discovered models Sophie Dahl and Stella Tenant, and worked with major photographers like Steven Meisel and David LaChapelle.

She revelled in shocking people with daring outfits: she once wore a fish-smelling, crystal-encrusted lobster on her head to a fashion show.

For her wedding, she wore a deep purple medieval robe that she matched with a gold mesh, helmet-esque headpiece.

But she began to suffer from depression, and in 2007, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ovarian cancer, Blow committed suicide aged 48.

Isabella Blow with Horns, Gloucestershire (1996)

Close friend and distant relative Daphne Guinness said: 'This exhibition is, to me, a bittersweet event.'

The artist and heiress, who bought Blow's wardrobe in its entirety in 2010, added: 'Isabella Blow made our world more vivid, trailing colour with every pace she took. It is a sorrier place for her absence.

Daphne Guinness: 'I do believe that in choosing to exhibit them we've done the right thing - and that it is what she would have wanted'

'When I visited her beloved clothes in a storage room in South Kensington, it seemed quite clear the collection would be of immense value to a great many people.

'I do believe that in choosing to exhibit them we've done the right thing - and that it is what she would have wanted. I am doing this in memory of a dear friend, in the hope that her legacy may continue to aid and inspire generations of designers to come.'

Guinness is the founder of the Isabella Blow Foundation, which promotes fashion, encourages young talent, and supports charities promoting mental health. In partnership with Central Saint Martins, the Isabella Blow Foundation collaborated with Somerset House to present Blow’s collection.

The show is to run at Somerset House in London from November 20 to March 2, 2014.

Isabella Blow (2002)

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I bet her and Alexander "Lee" McQueen are having a ball together up there in heaven. - Clover, Here, United States - - - - McQueen was sick of her towards the end. She was a 0 who hung out and got free clothes. No more.

- Citizen not subject , London, 10/5/2013 00:03

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M.A.D MAGAZINE!

- sallybc1965 , london, United Kingdom, 09/5/2013 23:05

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I really miss seeing her in Vogue and online popping up at various events. I am sure there was a big vacancy at many shows once she wasn't around. She was really one of a kind.

- Amy , Toronto, 09/5/2013 22:11

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By God, she is the precursor of Lady Gaga!

- vprieto , San Juan, Puerto Rico, 09/5/2013 21:01

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"Wintour said that when Blow worked for Vogue she did everything fabulously, even cleaning Wintour's desk with Perrier water and Chanel perfume." - Superficial beyond belief, these fashion types.

- Ammy , Singapore, Singapore, 09/5/2013 20:55

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I bet her and Alexander "Lee" McQueen are having a ball together up there in heaven.

- Clover , Here, United States, 09/5/2013 20:23

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The last picture is my favourite , I love that hat a true work of art!

- lilkadi2000 , Nottinghamshire, 09/5/2013 20:20

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Good fashion advice. Wear something ghastly on you head if you have a ghastly face.

- Mike D , Toronto, Canada, 09/5/2013 20:15

Click to rate Rating 56

She was the Lady Gaga of fashion BEFORE there was a Lady Gaga. Love the Cruella DeVille like hat/ headpiece in the last photo. Fabulous, and striking individual who marched to the beat of her own drummer.

- Susan , Avon CT. USA, 09/5/2013 20:05

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Oh I love eccentric toffs like Mrs Blow! We need more like her. Such a shame that she took her own life.

- Disenchanted19 , Coventry, United Kingdom, 09/5/2013 19:51

Click to rate Rating 99

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