Isabella Blow

Finally, 'Fashion Bros' is back! (Just go with us on this one.)

Here's all the fashion news to keep you hanging on until the weekend, including more about Victoria Beckham's Skype project and Blue Ivy in a major ensemble.

Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!" bowed at the at Somerset House in London today. Take a peek at the some of the exquisite clothes and photographs on display.

We've got a ton of juicy news to keep you warm on this snowy Tuesday!

Editor and muse Isabella Blow left behind a truly legendary wardrobe. She famously snapped up Alexander McQueen's graduate collection from Central Saint Martins. Now, the late style icon is getting her due with an exhibit of her wardrobe highlights, set to open in November at the Somerset House in London.

Phillip Treacy has an exciting new project in the works--and this one's got nothing to do with hats. The famous Irish milliner told WWD, "I am about to do a movie, which is very, very exciting." While Treacy declined to elaborate on the project, the trade claims, "it’s understood that the focus [of the movie] is on [Isabella] Blow."

Yesterday Daphne Guinness put 102 fabulous items from her closet on the block at Christie's to benefit the Isabella Blow Foundation in memory of her late friend and editor, who committed suicide in 2007. According to the Telegraph, Guinness was hoping to raise about £100,000 ($155,994) and instead pulled in almost quintuple that amount, a whopping £476,800 (about $743,782). Among the big ticket items were a Mario Testino portrait of the beer heiress which went for £133,250 ($207,862), and in the process set a new world record selling price for a Testino picture. Another big spender bought an Alexander McQueen dress--called The Girl Who Lived In The Tree (at left)--for £85,250 ($132,985), which also set a record as the most ever spent on a McQueen piece. Turns out the girl with deep pockets was most likely Lady Gaga, a friend and champion of the late designer and a fangirl of both Blow and Guinness.

The imminence of prom season means we've been inundated with an array of press releases on the subject, one of which actually grabbed our attention

Daphne Guinness has finally revealed, to Charlie Rose of all people, what she plans to do with that wardrobe of Isabella Blow's she bought following Blow's death, to prevent it from being auctioned off. Rose hosted a discussion about the state of fashion with Diane Von Furstenberg, Suzy Menkes and Guinness. For the most part, Guinness appeared shy and didn't say much--Menkes was the most loquacious--but she did share a couple of interesting tidbits. Adding on to a discussion about how the digital revolution is changing and democratizing fashion, she said, I'm going to put together now a show of my friend's clothes who died and I'm going to do that online so that people in New Zealand can see it because they might not be able to get to Central St. Martin's to be able to see that.

On the left is Martha Stewart on the cover of her latest Halloween issue. On the right is the late style icon Isabella Blow, whom we're sure needs no introduction. While we appreciate Martha breaking out of her conservative Connecticut Mom image and, ahem, spreading her wings, we have to call her out for cribbing a bit too much from Blow, who wore the artsy style in 2006, when it was actually original. Furthermore, Blow's butterfly mask was created by milliner master Philip Treacy, while Martha's kind of looks like she hot-gunned some poor butterfly's remains together and stuck them to her face.

Philip Treacy gave the Sunday Guardian a juicy unfiltered interview, where the famed milliner dished on everything from his muse Isabella Blow, having

I'm heading off to Pitti Uomo and Pitti W next week, Florence's men's and women's fairs. Other than eating authentic Neapolitan pizza, which I'm clearly most excited about, there are a ton of great events and shows going on during the week that are sure to make it a memorable few days: 1. Trussardi dal 1911. The Italian house will celebrate its 100th birthday at Pitti with a Fall 2011 runway show. The show will be live-streamed on www.trussardi.com, and brand devotees will be able to buy certain items immediately following the event on www.thecorner.com. There will also be a ton of great pieces from Trussardi's archives on hand--including gloves from the original Dante Trussardi glove factory--for attendees to view. 2. Liberty's Men's Club Cocktail Party. When I lived in London I attended many Liberty of London cocktail parties. I remember one in particular, for jeweler Shaun Leane, where Elton John, Isabella Blow, and Sam Taylor Wood all showed up. Add some canapes, fancy decor, Champagne, and what you have equals magic. So yes, despite my old lady disposition, I'm am thrilled to clink glasses with the Liberty crew yet again. This time around, we'll be celebrating the launch of their menswear collection, produced by Slowear.

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!

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.

The Isabella Blow book war just won't quit. And the authors of the competing biographies--Tom Sykes, who cowrote Blow by Blow with Isabella's widower Detmar, and Lauren Goldstein Crowe who wrote Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion--continue to use the fashion blogosphere to duke it out. Crowe has spoken out again, though this time, instead of responding to Syke's latest outrage, she's taking issue with one of the sites covering the saga, lady blog Jezebel. Seems Crowe didn't like Jenna Sauers' implication, as she recapped the back-and-forth on Jezebel, that the authors were simply drumming up publicity at Isabella Blow's expense. "Far be it from us mere bloggers to act like some kind of voice of morality here, but a talented and troubled woman died and all these people can think about is their petty little publicity-chasing book-selling feud?" Sauers wrote. So Crowe sent a response to us and Racked, titled, "A Letter to Jezebel." Here it is, in full: How strange of you to recall, step-by-step, the grisly tale between myself and Tom Sykes ("Competing Isabella Blow Biographers Attack Each Other," November, 11, 2010) but when it comes to my completely coherent clarification to decide to "act like some voice of morality" and point out that "a trouble woman died," and accuse us both of pandering for publicity's sake.

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!

SoHo Gets a Nordstrom: New York City is finally getting a Nordstrom. Except it's not just any ordinary Nordstom--it's a concept shop with a charity angle. The store will donate all of its earnings to charity. While most of the details are not yet worked out, the store will occupy 11,100 square feet at 350 West Broadway. {Racked} When Designers Get Into Costume: With Halloween only a few days away, T Magazine asked some of their favorite designers what they were going to be for Halloween. Pamela Love is going as Georgia O'Keeffe, Joseph Altuzarra will dress as wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, Eddie Borgo is going to go as Pee Wee Herman and Chris Benz is deciding between a matador and a bellhop . {T Magazine} Isabella Blow Biopic: There has been a lot of rumors surrounding the making of a biopic focusing on the life of the late Isabella Blow. Apparently, it's really happening. The film's director and producers have all been chosen, and the screenplay has already been written. Set to be involved in the film are John Galliano and Philip Treacy, both who were very close to Blow. {The Cut}

Fashion's Night Out is quickly approaching and it's going to be huge. During the week of September 10 events will be taking place across the globe. As we already reported, Vogue will be staging the biggest fashion show ever on September 7. As follow up, there will also be a CBS special on the 14 and a FNO-themed Gossip Girl episode on the 20. But what about the day of? Not everyone's plans are 100% locked down yet, although we've been getting scoops from a few retailers from NYC to Berlin and we just couldn't wait to share! It's never too early to start preparing for fashion's biggest party, right?

Which came first Daria or the necklace?: YSL's Fall 2010 campaign was just released. Stefano Pilati seems to have styled Daria after the necklace she's wearing at the Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre. {YSL} I am a plastic bag: The celebrity-beloved Balenciaga Motorcycle bag has been knocked off for ages (we may have had one in high school). But now, this Japanese company is producing a plastic version in neon colors with weird bobbles, covered in drawings of Karl Lagerfeld, birds and Vogue logos. Will this be 2010's version of those jelly Hermes knock-offs from 10 years ago? {Nylon} Kate Moss for Isabel Marant: A first look at Isabel Marant's Fall 2010 campaign featuring the one and only...{Fashion Gone Rogue}

Blow by Blow, a new play about the life of fashion icon Isabella Blow, will premiere at the 11th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival next month. The play is unrelated to the Blow film, which is being produced by John Galliano. But much like the movie, the stage presentation will depict her life and death. Playwright Jean Bergantini Grillo spent the last three years crafting the script. Accomplished director Jen Forcino is at the production's helm, and she's brought on costume designer Susan Voelker to create the garments. (Voelker plans on re-imagining some of Blow's famous Philip Treacy hats for the stage.) We've got a feeling Voelker's going to be under more scrutiny than Grillo or Forcino in this circumstance.