Somerset House is to host a major exhibition dedicated to the extraordinary life and wardrobe of the late Isabella Blow.
Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! will feature over a hundred pieces from the personal collection of the legendary nurturer of British fashion talent, which is now owned by close friend and fellow fashion patron Daphne Guinness. It includes many priceless pieces by the then-fledgling creatives she championed among them , Philip Treacy, Hussein Chalayan and .
This exhibition is, to me, a bittersweet event, says Guinness. Isabella Blow made our world more vivid, trailing colour with every pace she took. It is a sorrier place for her absence.
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 weve 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.
Curated by Alistair ONeill with Shonagh Marshall and featuring installations by celebrated set designer Shona Heath, Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! will chart Blows life in fashion chronologically, from her aristocratic upbringing and early stylist work through to the legacy she left behind when she died, aged 48, in 2007.
It will run from 20 November 2013 to 2 March 2014 at the Embankment Galleries, Somerset House, London, in partnership with the Isabella Blow Foundation and Central Saint Martins.
Says CSMs Professor Louise Wilson: Isabella Blow was a champion of creative talent. So much that we know today would never have happened without her vision and her support of British fashion and creativity was unique.
