Philip Treacy

Philip Treacy, five-time award-wining British Accessory Designer of the Year, produces hats and accessories for all occasions.Since their first meeting on a fashion shoot in 1989 when Treacy was a student at the Royal College of Art, Isabella Blow has been his staunchest supporter and a constant source of inspiration.After leaving the RCA, he lived and worked out of the basement of the basement of her London house for three years. Many of his most surreal and sculptural hats were made for her. "Issy never said 'You've gone too far'" told Treacy. "She always said, 'You haven't gone far enough'". Philip Treacy explores their collaboration through twenty of his hats for her. This book is the catalog of the London Design Museum's exhibit, which included the "Ship", an astonishingly realistic replica of an 18th-century French ship with rigging made from miniature buttons, and the rose damask "Pope" after the papal hat. Also featured is the "Castle" inspired by Blow's ancestral home. "Gilbert and George" is a fantastical concoction of pink and green lacquered ostrich feathers. "Horns" is a black satin replica of the horns of Blow's flock of ancient Soays sheep.The show included photographs by Steven Meisel, David LaChapelle, Jurgen Teller, and Mario Testino of Isabella Blow wearing Treacy's hats.