Today marks the first anniversary of British fashion eccentric Isabella Blow’s tragic suicide. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour gave Blow her first big break as her personal assistant and she later worked in London as style editor for Tatler magazine. Issie Blow is reputably known for discovering fashion designer extraordinaire Alexander McQueen and conceptual hat concocter Phillip Treacy, who whipped up Blow’s notoriously bizarre hat wardrobe. Lobsters, sailboats, and antlers were among some of the outrageous designs that graced Ms. Blow's head almost every day.
The fashion world praised Blow for her daring, but the real reason behind her affection for shocking headgear was to obscure her self-loathed face and constant depression. “It pains me to say so, but I’m ugly,” Issie once said. “My face is like a Plantagenet portrait.”
Blow’s inner anguish also came from her extremely difficult childhood. Her grandfather was tried for murdering an Earl and eventually killed himself, her little brother drowned when she was four, her mother abandoned her, and her stepmother kicked her out of her own home. No matter how many rungs she climbed on the social ladder, her depression stayed with her. She hung around with an elite group of friends, lived on a gorgeous estate, and had an adoring husband, but she was miserable inside.
After two failed suicide attempts (Blow wanted to recreate author Virginia Woolf’s grisly suicide, but her plan foiled when the handful of sedatives she took caused her to pass out before she reached the ocean), she finally succeeded after imbibing a considerable amount of Paraquat, a poisonous weed killer. Her two sisters and husband, Detmar, rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late. She died May 7, 2007. She was 48.
This spring, celebrate Issie’s vibrant life with a fabulous hat. But instead of hiding behind it, like Issie did, highlight that gorgeous mug with a glamorous floppy sun hat, a sassy newsboy, or a snappy fedora. Hats shout, “Look at me! I’m brave, I’m ballsy!” They scream personality and mock inhibitions. Indulge in the season’s hottest accessory and shine as brightly as fashion’s most-missed star once did. Issie would be proud.
