Hello Beauties,
Today's post is part 2 of an mini Alexander McQueen series I'm, doing on my blog, if you missed out on "last week's" post you might want to catch up here ~ first before continue reading.
In today's post I'll be talking about Isabella Blow, who was the very talented lady, that discovered models Stella Tennant, and Sophie Dahl, as well as fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, Julian McDonald and hat designer Phillip Tracey.
Brief History of Isabella Blow
Isabella Blow, better known as Issie, lived in London for the early part of her life. She was very creative and had a keen interest in fashion, particularly in her mothers clothes and beautiful hat collection. Once Issie finished her A-Levels, she drifted from job to job, until she decided to move to New York to study Ancient Chinese Art. A year later she got married and started working for French designer Guy Laroche, which didn't last long, as she ended up getting divorced after two years of marriage and got offered the job of a lifetime to be Anna Wintour's assistant at U.S Vogue. She worked her way up the Vogue ladder and it wasn't too long until she was assisting U.S Vogue's editor-at-large André Leon Talley. From a young age Issie craved a life of glamour and now she was finally living her dream, partying with Warhol and working with Wintour.
Issie's career as fashion journalist was in full swing by the mid 80's. She then returned to the UK, again drifting from job to job, she was the fashion director of Tatler and then The Sunday Times. It was around the early 90's that Blow discovered Phillip Tracey. She was on the hunt for someone to design a hat for her for her second wedding and stumbled upon Tracey. She then made it her 'thing' to wear hats, it was just another signature piece of Blow's iconic style. If Issie thought it was chic or surreal in someway to wear a lobster on her head she would go and do it, she loved the mystery.
Lee McQueen and Issie Blow
The pair met at McQueen's graduate show from St Martins, in February 1992. As Issie had a keen eye for fashion, what she saw in McQueen's designs she loved, she saw the beauty in his collection when others didn't at first, she loved the way his clothes moved and she loved how McQueen 'sabotaged' the 90's by, making his clothes rebellious. In the end Issie bought McQueen's whole graduate collection for £5,000 paying it off in weekly £100 instalments. At this point, Issie, looked like the best thing that could happen to McQueen, with her contacts in fashion, she had all she needed to launch his career and that she did.
Issie helped turn McQueen's shoestring designs into goldmines, ending up on Vogue and becoming the talk of the town. the pair became a set of trendsetters and hit the big time in the 90's. McQueen would design and Issie would publicise, getting everyone and anyone she knew to come and see a McQueen show in action. Issie was a loud character and brought the best out of the quietly opinionated McQueen.
The pair had a great bond and shared many things in common. They would often go to places to fly hawks, as they both had a fascination with birds. The private time they spent together, was often used to share ideas or go out looking for inspiration. Issie always provided him with stimulation, so McQueen would never get bored or lose inspiration. She constantly pushed McQueen, to gain more confidence in what he did, telling McQueen "you're up there with the best of them", she always offered encouragement for McQueen to become more extreme and go bigger and better and more rebellious. She really wanted him to test the boundaries of fashion, which is exactly what he did.
As McQueen went from strength to strength, rocking the runway, regularly appearing in vogue and casually drinking champagne with Princess Dianna, his and Issie's bond grew. They were the dynamic duo creating the look of the 90's.
McQueen, was then offered the job of a lifetime to go to France and work as Givenchy's head designer, Isabella went with him of course for moral support and encouragement. This was McQueen's chance to put a British stamp on the classic Givenchy pieces, there was a lot of pressure riding on him. Issie however felt neglected by McQueen. After she came back from her trip to France with McQueen, she got drunk and spoke a reporter about the pair's relationship, she felt neglected by McQueen, she gave him inspiration and encouragement but didn't get paid, she felt like she had nothing and was hurt that McQueen didn't give her a proper job with him at Givenchy. However, Issie, wasn't one to stand in the way of McQueen's achievements. His Givenchy collections grew and grew and ended up being a huge success. Issie talked up his accomplishments and sang his praises.
It was around this time that Issie landed her job as fashion director of the Sunday Times and to celebrate the news she posed with McQueen in Vanity Fair.
Issie began to feel the pressure in her new role as fashion director for the Sunday times, hitting deadlines became daunting, sticking to budgets was frustrating, he demands became more and more extreme and her behaviour got more dramatic. The stress of the job strained her, even though it was something she put her all into and was very passionate about. After 4 years in the job, Issie was fired, as she was labelled 'a figure from the past'. But shortly after she accepted a job from Tatler, a magazine she had already been sacked for before in the past. It wasn't too long until she separated from her husband and began treatment for severe depression. McQueen helped pay for Issie's treatment, he was worried about her and wanted her to be seen to.
As McQueen was going from strength to strength, making a deal with the Gucci Group, collecting awards from the Queen and being named international designer of the year; Issie was suffering, her career was at it's lowest point, she had left Tatler and arranged a massive comeback as a lifestyle photographer for the rich and famous, it was a total flop. Issie had this great sadness about her, this feeling of being lost in her career, her relationships, she started losing grip with reality and herself. Her depression grew and had attempted suicide 3 times in 3 months. McQueen wanted Issie to be well again and back on form, he wasn't just going to give up on her but, however McQueen couldn't see Issie the way she was, so he gave her some tough love, in the hope that she would fight to be well again.
So, Issie arrange for McQueen to come and see her in Gloucestershire for a weekend, she went to a lot of trouble arranging his favourite food, arranging for his dogs to come over, for his to be able to fly his hawks but, when McQueen arrived he wasn't in a good place himself and looked himself away in his room for the weekend. Issie was disappointed as to how it all planned out, Issie wanted to show him her love and she wanted to laugh like old times but, unfortunately neither of them were in the right state of mind to get what they needed.
Unfortunetly, a couple months later, Issie stopped by a local farm shop to purchase rat poison. All she could see was what had been, her 'glory' days, she was unable to see a future, she didn't want to be alone. 7th May 2007, Issie committed suicide. McQueen was devastated.
5 months after her death McQueen and Phillip Tracey put on a show for her in Paris called, la dame bleue.
"He's a wild bird, with a good silhouette... birds have movement, freedom, they're wild, they're free, they don't have to be responsible to anyone one other than to their great technical ability to fly and I think he makes clothes fly" ~ Isabella Blow on Alexander McQueen.
Isabella was an inspiration to many and I'm fortunate to have this platform, so I can share with you guys my icons and how they have impacted me. If it wasn't for Isabella, we wouldn't have had McQueen and who knows how that would have impacted the fashion industry. Would the 90's have been so cutting edge and rebellious? Where would the bumsters be? Or lobster claw heels? Who knows?
Lots of Love, Hugs and Kisses,
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