“Issie loathed casual,” Detmar Blow, husband of the late Isabella Blow, tells Vogue. “She liked people to make an effort.” Hilles House, their home in the Cotswolds, embodies that very maximalist ethos: The walls are covered in centuries-old paintings, images from fashion shoots by Steven Meisel, and even a Botticelli-inspired William Morris tapestry that houseguest Alexander McQueen once claimed that he grabbed off the hooks, stuffed into his suitcase, and smuggled back to London. (It was a prank—albeit a convincing one: “Everyone freaked out,” Blow’s niece, Harriet Verney, recalls.)
In Vogue’s latest Objects of Affection video, the relatives of the eccentric fashion editor reflect on the vast array of art and objets at Hilles that reflect Blow and her legacy. Like the tapestry, many of them have a connection to McQueen, whom Blow discovered while he was a student at Central Saint Martins. (She bought his entire graduate collection for 5,000 pounds, and for many years served as his muse.) Others pay homage to her patronage of hatmaker Philip Treacy, such as a portrait by Phil Poynter where she poses in one of his artful creations. Then, there’s the “cabinet of curiosities” in the Long Room which includes everything from Issie’s Mac lipstick to a small purse that she used to cram with folded-up cigarettes. “Issie filled it with happiness and people,” Blow says of their Arts and Crafts estate. “And plug sockets,” adds Verney.
Perhaps the most poignant item? A portrait of Charles I, who, despite his poor leadership skills, was a great collector and supporter of the arts. Blow notes his late wife’s fondness for the painting, as well as the intellectual thread connecting the two. “Their love of beauty and creativity was a troubled one. It often came at paying a price,” he says.
Here, watch Blow and Verney as they walk through their favorite things at Hilles House. As Blow concludes? “Hilles was the perfect theatrical background for her.”
Director: Posy Dixon
Director of Photography: John Fisher
Editor: Katie Wolford
Producer: Liv Proctor
Producer, Vogue: Nicola Pardy
Creative Producer, Vogue: Gabrielle Reich
Associate Director, Creative Development, Vogue: Billie JD Porter
Associate Producer: Natalie Harris
Audio: Danny Carey
Drone operator/1st AC: Jimmy Cape
Production Assistant: Juliette Hagg
Production Coordinator: Ava Kashar
Production Manager: Kit Fogarty
Line Producer: Romeeka Powell
Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier
Assistant Editor: Ben Harowitz
Post Production Coordinator: Jovan James
Supervising Editor: Kameron Key
Post Production Supervisor: Nick Ascanio
Director of Content, Production, Vogue: Rahel Gebreyes
Senior Director, Programming, Vogue: Linda Gittleson
Executive Producer: Ruhiya Nuruddin
VP, Digital Video English, Vogue: Thespena Guatieri
Archival Imagery:
Photography Sean Ellis at Kayte Ellis Agency
Phil Poynter
Juergen Teller
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