Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!

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Exhibition review: Isabella Blow: Fashion galore!!

Somerset House, Embankment Galleries South Wing, London, 20th November 2013 - 2nd March 2014!

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Somerset House, located in the heart of London, was surrounded by marques and photographers to celebrate London Fashion Week events at the time of my visit. The exquisitely-dressed surrounded the entrance to the arts and cultural centre and created a feeling that this is a venue for the elite. Somerset House is an outstanding venue and is used for a variety of events and is the perfect setting for an exhibition that celebrates Isabella as a muse, mentor and marvel. Somerset House, in partnership with The Isabella Blow Foundation and Central Saint Martins, have put together this breathtaking display as a reminder of a glamorous fashion icon. A spiral staircase with a centre feature of colourful origami birds leads downstairs into the Isabella Blow exhibition. Dramatic black floor-length curtains and black painted walls set the scene for Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! This entrance creates an eerie atmosphere before you enter, a subtle reminder of death perhaps. Seven years after her passing, this exhibition shows dress alongside personal items, videos, influential designers and most importantly explores her extraordinary style. !

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The first room of the exhibition displays Isabella’s childhood photo albums and this places visitors right at the beginning; the start of a journey through Isabella’s exceptional life. A quote describing Blow’s career choice, allows us to get an insight into her background: “Forced to earn a living, she chose a career in fashion. Her gift was to take the ruins of her class and the rubble of history to convey the co-ordinates of British Fashion.” This section reveals a lot more clothing references and shows that not only does the exhibition allow us to learn about her life, but it also praises the likes of Phillip Treacy and Alexander McQueen, and allows visitors to view her wardrobe.!

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Isabella was renowned for her talent to find extravagant designers and these two were key to her fashion career. Isabella spotted McQueen straight from his graduation show and bought his whole graduate collection for £5,000 and continued to assist him for most of his career. The first we see of these designers is Treacy’s 1990 collection, which included an eye-catching red sculpted silk hat placed on a white mannequin head attached to the wall.

Alongside this collection shows the video of his 1990 catwalk show, with the soundtrack of ‘Favourite Things’ from ‘The Sound of Music’. This song brightens the room and almost brings us back to the images of Isabella as a child.!

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White walls offer a complete contrast to the previous room and see-through panels surround the staircase. One of Blow’s most recognisable projects in the fashion industry is celebrated here. In 1996, Blow had a hand in the staging of Treacy and McQueen’s catwalk shows. A quote on the wall reads: “She was not a designer but she was key to two of the strongest Fashion shows in London this season (A/W 1996)”. These memorable catwalk shows represent some of Isabella’s greatest life achievements. The focal point in this room, on a large white box, is McQueen’s 1996 gothic black-lace dress with a dominant headdress and train. The headdress is held up with antlers from underneath and spot lights have been placed above and below to accentuate this garment and create an animalistic sculpture, the garments and mannequins are both works of art.!

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Figure 1: McQueen’s 1996 lace dress from the Dante collection. The headdress is held by antlers attached to the mannequin’s head.!

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A quote from Isabella explains that: “What attracted me to McQueen was the way he takes ideas from the past and sabotages them with his cut.” All walls in the gallery were filled with McQueen’s ‘Dante’ collection. As a contrast to the static displays, a television shows a smaller spectacle of the bigger picture and is playing McQueen’s 1996 ‘Dante’ Catwalk show. Isabella is seen sat in the front row clapping and cheering along, she was a confident character with a true passion for design and this video embodies that.!

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In the main gallery, the third section of the exhibition, are various white mannequin legs with rectangle boxes instead of bodies. On the front of these deconstructed boxes are glass panels which allow various items to be viewed inside. Some items included name cards from Vogue events Isabella attended and her lipsticks. In one box there were two mannequin feet wearing the same style Manalo Blahnik heel but in different colours, the label reads: “Isabella enjoyed wearing odd shoes”. This showcases Isabella’s eccentric personality and playfulness. !

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Figure 2: Inside this box are Isabella’s Manalo Blahnik heels, in which she would wear different colours at the same time.!

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The back of the room has white diagonal panels leading down to a fountain made out of flashing lights, drawing visitors down the corridor. In a huge glass-box built into the wall, the exhibition returns back to fashion and a mannequin is set in an underwater scene, wearing a boat hat by Treacy. The hat was inspired by Isabella, Treacy wanted her to wear a ship hat in her hair to commemorate a French victory over the English at sea. The hat is made entirely from feathers and creates a link between design and history. !

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Figure 3: Here are the diagonal panels that lead visitors down the corridor towards a fountain made of lights.!

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Figure 4: The incredible display used to showcase Treacy’s ship hat. !

One of Isabella’s McQueen coats is displayed in its truest form, with visible cigarette burns. This is a real presentation of Isabella’s wardrobe and gives an image that she would wear her favourite clothes until they were worn away. This McQueen A/W 1996 tan wool coat, with sheepskin collar and cuffs, was well and truly loved. The choice to display this coat, with the burn visible to all, is a side of designer garments that we don’t see very often. We are normally walking around exhibitions staring at clothes in pristine conditions behind glass cabinets, not close enough to imagine how the fabric feels. Instead we can see Isabella’s wardrobe in it’s exact state, stood so close that we can see every detail.!

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Isabella loved the house built by her family in Cheshire, Doddington Hall, and a room in the exhibition had been reconstructed to represent the ‘Circular Saloon’ from this house.

The wallpaper depicted windows and brought to life the interior decoration from Blow’s family retreat. From this interior design, we can tell that Isabella enjoyed the finer things in life and loved her luxuries. In this room is a circular display of white mannequins on black boxes, the mannequins all have plastic panels placed over the front of their faces to create mystery and intricate designs. The focal point is a Treacy 2006 bright-pink feather hat with a veil, which stands out greatly when placed with Galliano for Christian Dior’s A/W 2003 black and white swing coat, made form silk, lurex and velvet.!

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A large cinema screen shows the McQueen S/S 2008 show, October 2007 in Paris. This contained large lights at the top of the catwalk which made the shape of a large bird of prey. The show started with lights flashing which looked as though the bird is moving and flying, almost as though the models are walking underneath the bird down the catwalk.

Treacy’s hats represent bird features such as wings or beaks. This on-going theme was a beautiful reminder of Isabella and McQueen’s work and friendship. Alexander McQueen commissioned Nick Thornton Jones to create this ‘bird of light’ in tribute of Blow. The soundtrack to the show is overlaid with excerpts of Isabella’s voice, a personal touch. Blow had a huge impact not just to McQueen’s catwalk shows but also to his life. This is represented by him using his 2008 show as a tribute to Blow’s life. The invitation to his show even depicted Isabella riding on a horse and chariot in the sky which symbolises Isabella being in heaven looking down on him.!

Figure 5: An image from the McQueen S/S 2008 catwalk show, which showcased the ‘Bird of Light’, a tribute to Isabella Blow.!

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The exhibition ends with a large screen showing the catalogue shoot for ‘Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!’, May 2013. The music filling the gallery is Brian Ferry’s ‘When She Walks in the Room’ which is from his 2010 album dedicated to Isabella. This creates a sombre finale and although her work has been greatly appreciated, we are still reminded that sometimes even the most talented end up unhappy and depressed. It is a heartbreaking feeling to walk through the galleries full of her personal collection of garments, knowing that seven years ago she left us so tragically. The slow soundtrack allows visitors to contemplate Isabella and how incredible a life she led. A quote from Isabella explains that she believed “your feet and head are the most important parts to dress”, and just like the exhibition title suggests excessive amounts of hats and shoes filled Somerset House.

Isabella’s creativity is greatly credited and the public are given a real adaptation of Isabella’s fascinating life represented through her wardrobe.!

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