Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!

This exhibition and publication investigated the surviving wardrobe of the late British fashion editor, Isabella Blow. The project was a partnership between the Isabella Blow Foundation, University of the Arts London and Somerset House Trust. The exhibition considered one woman’s wardrobe through notions of biography and memory, portraiture and self-presentation, delineating it through the principle of silhouette as defined by art history and dress history.

The exhibition unpacked the significance of Blow as a patron of British fashion in the 1990s, promoting the work of designers graduating from London design colleges Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art. It concentrated on three points in the career of two of her protégées - Philip Treacy and Alexander McQueen: their graduation collections (1990 and 1992 respectively); their Autumn/Winter 1996 collections (McQueen’s was dedicated to Blow, Treacy’s was styled by her); and McQueen Spring/Summer 2008 with hats by Treacy (in tribute to Blow after her death).

The exhibition was a collaborative project with architects Carmody Groarke, set designer Shona Heath and graphic designers Graphic Thought Facility. The accompanying Rizzoli publication includes a 70 image shoot of the wardrobe photographed by Nick Knight and styled by Amanda Harlech; with essays by Caroline Evans, Alex Fury, Shonagh Marshall and O’Neill. O’Neill was lead curator of the exhibition and edited the publication.

• http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-a...