DUSSELDORF — There aren’t many people who can get away with a hat that looks as if a giant, red, sparkly butterfly has landed on one eye. But then, considering Isabella Blow has at various times been known to wear a Neuschwanstein-inspired castle, a David Beckham head or black satin sheep horns, she is clearly not a woman to be fazed by millinery creativity. In fact, compared with previous adornments, most notably the famous 18th-century sailing ship, estimated to be worth around $5.8 million, this latest Philip Treacy creation looks positively restrained.
Treacy was here with his friend and muse, Blow, at the beginning of the month to open the exhibition “When Philip Met Isabella.” The show charts the pair’s cooperation since they met in 1989, when Treacy designed Blow’s wedding head-dress.
The exhibition features his most famous creations, along with explanations about where Blow wore each piece and the inspiration behind it. Also included are photographs of Treacy’s work by Steven Meisel, David LaChapelle, Juergen Teller and Mario Testino.
“Since the 1930s, the reason for wearing hats has changed enormously,” explained Treacy. “They used to represent conformity. Now, they are an act of rebellion.” And, at every level of society, hats are just as relevant today as ever, he believes. “You see hats everywhere: policemen wear hats, people wear baseball caps, rappers wear woollen hats.”
For Treacy, anything that hovers near the face has the potential to be a hat and he describes the head as the most potent area of the body to decorate. “When you meet someone, you look at their face, so a hat makes a massive impact,” he said, adding that it brings particular attention to the eyes.
“I feel naked without a hat,” explained Blow, who wears headwear daily. “Can you imagine the queen naked? Not a pretty thought, I know. Well, that’s how I feel without a hat.” Blow sees hats as a sort of pain-free alternative to cosmetic surgery. “You don’t need the knife and anaesthetic. I just shove on a veil and look instantly fabulous,” she said, laughing.
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“Everyone can wear hats,” added Treacy. “Everybody has a head, so it’s just a question of finding the right hat.”
Needless to say, it was a hat that first brought the two together. Blow was working as style editor at Tatler and saw one of Treacy’s creations while he was still studying at the Royal College of Art in London. “I met the hat first,” she recalled. “It was this long, green, jagged-y felt thing, jumping out of a box, looking like a crocodile. It’s the same thing as when I go to an exhibition. I see the painting first before I see the painter.”
A year later, in 1990, the designer moved into the basement of Blow’s house in Belgravia, and she took on the role of living runway for Treacy’s hats — a brave move, considering that at the time hats were seriously out of fashion and considered the preserve of old ladies. Together, Treacy and Blow have since proven otherwise.
Not that things don’t occasionally go awry. “We’ll be in a cab and she’ll sit on a hat which I’ve just spent three days making,” Treacy said, laughing and looking over at Blow. “It’s certainly a commitment, being a muse,” said Blow. “It’s like having a baby.”
“When Philip Met Isabella” runs until April 9 at the North Rhine-Westphalia Forum for Culture and Industry here.