Isabella Blow’s extraordinarily fashionable life is on display in new exhibition

INFLUENTIAL fashion editor, Isabella Blow (left), was credited with launching the careers of fashion designers, and now an exhibition of her impressive wardrobe is on at the Powerhouse Museum.

More from the Isabella Blow: A Fashionable Life exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. Pictures: Adam Taylor

A HEADPIECE crowned with deer antlers, fluffy pompoms the size of grapefruit, and ornately sculptural dresses that fold, origami-like, around the body aren’t the kind of things most people would wear. But then Isabella Blow wasn’t most people.

The influential fashion editor and stylist was credited with discovering and launching the careers of fashion designers including Alexander McQueen and Julien Macdonald, and milliner Philip Treacy.

The flamboyant but troubled Blow took her own life in 2007, and when her extensive and impressive wardrobe was to be sold at auction at Christie’s in 2010, her friend artist Daphne Guinness snapped up the lot.

There were more than 500 pieces, and 157 of them — from the designers she discovered, and others — are in Sydney as part of Isabella Blow: A Fashionable Life at the Powerhouse Museum, which opens today.

Pieces of fashion from the Isabella Blow fashion exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

Curator Shonagh Marshall says that although Blow played a crucial role in rejuvenating London’s fashion scene in the late 1990s — she was never precious about fashion. Nor did she believe fashion was precious.

“She didn’t own or wear clothes that weren’t relevant to her life,” Marshall says.

“She had an emotional, passionate attachment with fashion and she wore her clothes. That’s really important ...

“The focus of the objects is the history of the worn. We are used to seeing the practice of the making of clothes, of pieces as artworks, but not as clothes. For Isabella, everything was about the craft and celebrated beauty of objects but she didn’t kid-glove them. She wore them.”

Some of Isabella Blow’s collection of Alexander McQueen couture pieces and Philip Treacy hats.

That is why the clothes in this exhibition are not in pristine, exhibit-like condition.

“The marks, stains, cigarette burns on clothes are marked with the signs and symbols of a life lived. What’s really important about this collection is that this was owned and worn by one woman,” Marshall says.

“The exhibit looks at stories and anecdotes of her life. The first ensemble you see is this Alexander McQueen For Givenchy skirt, a kimono jacket, butterfly Philip Treacy eyepiece and Manolo Blahnik heels. Obviously it’s Givenchy couture, which is very expensive, and in her papers and files we found a note where she is trying to claim the ensemble through expenses when she was at The Sunday Times. She wrote ‘business clothes’ on the invoice for 40,000 francs.”

The ‘business clothes’ ensemble worth 40,000 francs which Blow tried to claim through expenses when she was at The Sunday Times.

Whether or not Blow’s cheeky expenses claim was successful is not known.

Fashion exhibitions have been a recent focus of the Powerhouse, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, and next Thursday it will be open late with free curator-led tours of this show, as well as Collette Dinnigan: Unlaced and the jewellery exhibit A Fine Possession. Student fashion will be on display, and there will be free workshops and performances.

Program producer Isabelle Kingsley says it’s part of a quarterly series that opens the museum to adults.

“The idea behind it is to give people an opportunity to come visit the museum when the little ones aren’t around, interact with the collections and engage with fun social activities, ideas and performances,” she says.

“A lot of people say they haven’t been to a museum since a school excursion; this way, they can come and experience it as an adult.”

● Isabella Blow: A Fashionable Life, Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo; until August 28, adult $15, conc $8, child free, maas.museum/powerhouse-museum

● MAASive Lates: May 19, 6pm-9pm; tickets are free but limited, bookings required, maas.museum

Originally published as Isabella Blow’s extraordinarily fashionable life is on display in new exhibition