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‘The Lace Wings Hat’ by Philip Treacy (2001), jacket by Alexander McQueen (2002), dress by Alexander McQueen (2003)
Credit: Supplied

When it comes to hosting blockbuster exhibitions of the world’s finest haute couture, Sydney often plays second fiddle to Melbourne.

This weekend, however, the tables turn when the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences hosts Isabella Blow: A Fashionable Life at the Powerhouse Museum, open to the public as of Saturday May 14 and running until August 28.

Pulled from the iconoclastic English fashion editor and stylist’s vast archives of ready-to-wear and haute couture, A Fashionable Life is the result of a collaboration between MAAS and Blow’s friend Daphne Guinness, the English artist and  heiress who purchased the entirety of Blow’s wardrobe so as to preserve the former’s considerable legacy in the form of the Isabella Blow Foundation.

While the exhibition also includes works by Julien McDonald,  Hussein Chalayan and many other innovative designers, it draws extensively on Blow’s significant collection of works by Alexander McQueen, the late designer whose first collection was purchased in full by Blow and with whom Blow developed an intense relationship lasting up until her death in 2007.

Ahead of Isabella Blow: A Fashionable Life opening to the public this weekend, you can now preview select pieces from the exhibition below, including works by her protégés McQueen and the inimitable milliner Philip Treacy.

You can find out all other vital information about the exhibition after the jump.

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‘Eyepiece’ by Philip Treacy (2006), ensemble by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy haute couture (1997), shoes by Manolo Blahnik (2004)
Credit: Supplied
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Hat by Philip Treacy for Chanel haute couture (2002), jacket by Alexander McQueen (2001), shoes by Manolo Blahnik (2002); Hat by Philip Treacy (1993), top and trousers by Viktor & Rolf (1998), shoes by Manolo Blahnik (1994)
Credit: Supplied
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Jacket by Alexander McQueen (2003), skirt by Alexander McQueen (2003)
Credit: Supplied
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‘Blow Hat’ by Philip Treacy (2005), dress by Alexander McQueen (2006)
Credit: Supplied

Tile image: The Isabella Blow Foundation
Cover image: The Isabella Blow Foundation