Detmar Blow

For those of you who participated in our first-ever Fashionista Book Club session on Friday, thanks for logging in! Since author Detmar Blow wasn't able to respond directly to your questions, we've put together a Q&A. More than anything, we think you'll find Detmar's answers sincere. Again, many thanks to Detmar for participating. More info on January's Book Club will be posted soon!

If you've just finished Blow by Blow and you've got a burning question to ask author Detmar Blow, you're in luck! Mr. Blow will join us live today at 3pm for the first-ever Fashionista Book Club session. You'll be able to ask Detmar questions about the book, and of course we'll be exchanging opinions as well. Just come back here at 3pm and there will be a space on the homepage that looks something like this. Looking forward to it!

I picked up Detmar Blow's biography of his late wife, Isabella Blow, while at the shows in Paris. I read it one evening in less than two hours. I have a million things to say about Blow by Blow, but since it's time for the Fashionista Book Club, I'll keep quiet for a little while longer! On Friday, December 3 at 3pm we'll be hosting a live chat about the book right here on Fashionista. You'll be able to hear what each of us thinks about the book, and you'll also be able to voice your own opinion. In the meantime, order your book here. If you have a Kindle or the Kindle app on your iPad or iPhone, you can also order a digital copy.

Two competing biographies of Isabella Blow, widely regarded as one of the most brilliant and creative forces in fashion, hit shelves this week. There's Blow by Blow, Detmar Blow's biography of his late wife coauthored by Tom Sykes, and there's Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion by veteran fashion writer Lauren Goldstein Crowe. Crowe's is being optioned for a movie. Detmar's bio is the required reading for our first Fashionista book club (virtual) meeting. There's a lot of bad blood between the two books. At the New York launch party for Blow by Blow, Detmar told WWD that he had "no interest" in Crowe's book. Following the London launch party for Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion, Crowe wrote to tell Racked.com: "Personally I thought it more interesting that Detmar's sister and cousin were there as were both Isabella's sisters and her step-mother and a variety of cousins. Also Philip Treacy and Lucy Ferry who didn't attend Detmar's launch. But hey, that's the world we live in." And now Tom Sykes, coauthor of Blow by Blow (and brother of Plum and Lucy) is fighting back. He sent us a long, angry email to comment on what he called the "outrageous slur that has been made today on our book by Ms Crowe on the fashion blog racked.com." Here it is in full (we've bolded the best bits): 'Hey, that's the world we live in'? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Lauren Golsdstein Crowe's outrageous insinuation seems to be that somehow her book is the 'approved version' because Issie's sisters came to her book launch. This cannot go unchallenged. Lavinia, Isabella's beloved youngest sister, came to the launch of our book in London, and was an honored guest at the dinner afterwards at Annabels. Freddie, Lavinia's son and one of Issie's cousins, was also at our launch in New York. And, for God's sake, DETMAR WAS ISSIE'S HUSBAND FOR ALMOST TWENTY YEARS!!!!

Isabella Blow was one of the most brilliant, creative and fascinating people in fashion. Last night I got to talk with two people who were close enough with her to write a book about her life. Anthropologie hosted the launch party for Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow (which, in turn, is the launchpad for the Fashionista Book Club!). Anthropologie co-prez Wendy Wurtzberger felt the company and Blow's story were a great fit,. She took me through the amazing in-store gallery exhibition featuring iconic images and artifacts from Isabella’s life. Fun fact about one particularly interesting photograph of Issie and Detmar Blow, her husband and co-author of the book, in a field next to a castle: There is a mysterious bunch of flowers hanging at the top of the frame--those flowers are being held by Alexander McQueen. Next, we spoke to Detmar, who was wearing a suit that had “The Modern Art” printed all over it in pink letters so tiny they almost looked like pinstripes. “Alexander McQueen picked out the fabric,” he told me, “He said the one I had originally chosen was too pink.”

I picked up Detmar Blow's biography of his late wife, Isabella Blow, while at the shows in Paris. I read it one evening in less than two hours. I have a million things to say about Blow by Blow, but since the book won't be released in the US until November 9, I'm going to hold back on my lengthy opinion. Indeed, Blow by Blow is the ideal launchpad for the Fashionista Book Club, a series we've been wanting to start for some time now. On Friday, December 3 at 3pm we'll be hosting a live chat about the book right here on Fashionista. You'll be able to hear what each of us thinks about the book, and you'll also be able to voice your own opinion. In the meantime, pre-order your book here. If you have a Kindle or the Kindle app on your iPad or iPhone, you can also pre-order a digital copy. Enjoy Blow by Blow--we can't wait to hear what you think!