Isabella Blow and Lady GagaCredited with discovering and nurturing the careers of Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, Stella Tennant and Sophie Dahl, Isabella Blow’s influence on fashion is still felt today. Outlandish and often times borderline-garish, Isabella Blow was a true fashion eccentric known for her whimsical hats and surreal accessories that appropriated the mundane and unusual. Despite her role in fashion, Blow was not without her demons; after a string of unsuccessful suicide attempts, Blow would eventually poison herself in 2007.  In 1998, Mario Testino photographed Blow dressed in an octopus hat and lobster necklace by Philip Treacy which referenced Salvador Dalí and the surrealists. Years later, Lady Gaga would wear a similar lobster hat by the same designer in February of 2010, perhaps paying homage to Blow.


Isabella Blow in a Philip Treacy Octopus Hat by Mario Testino, Paris 1998

Isabella Blow in a Philip Treacy Octopus Hat by Mario Testino, Paris 1998

Lady Gaga in a Philip Treacy Lobster Hat, 2010

Lady Gaga in a Philip Treacy Lobster Hat, 2010

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