She was mentor to Philip Treacy, and is credited with discovering the models Stella Tennant and Sophie Dahl, and fashion designer Alexander McQueen, beginning when she bought the entirety of his graduate show inspired by Jack the Ripper.

[3][4] Blow had two sisters, Julia and Lavinia; her brother, John, drowned in the family's swimming pool at the age of two.

[8]Blow moved to New York City in 1979 to study Ancient Chinese Art at Columbia University and shared a flat with the actress Catherine Oxenberg.

A year later, she left the Art History programme at Columbia, moved to Texas, and worked for Guy Laroche.

In 1981 she married her first husband, Nicholas Taylor (whom she divorced in 1983), and was introduced to the fashion director of the US edition of Vogue, Anna Wintour.

She returned to London in 1986 and worked for Michael Roberts, then the fashion director of Tatler and The Sunday Times Style magazine.

[8]In 1993 she worked with the photographer Steven Meisel producing the Babes in London shoot, which featured Plum Sykes, Bella Freud and Honor Fraser.

She became the subject of an exhibition in 2002 entitled When Philip met Isabella, which featured sketches and photographs of her wearing Treacy's hat designs.

[15] In 2004 Blow had an acting cameo playing a character called Antonia Cook in the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

It consisted of daily guided tours of Frieze Art Fair led by Blow and fellow international fashion experts Peter Saville, Kira Joliffe, and Bay Garnett.

Daphne Guinness, a friend of Blow's, stated: "She was upset that Alexander McQueen didn't take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci.

Detmar Blow went on to have an affair with Stephanie Theobald, the society editor of British Harper's Bazaar,[20] while his estranged wife entered into a liaison with a gondolier she met in Venice.

[24] On 6 May 2007, during a weekend house party at Hilles, where the guests included Treacy and his partner, Stefan Bartlett, Blow announced that she was going shopping.

Instead, Blow was later discovered collapsed on a bathroom floor and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where she told the doctor she had drunk weed killer.

A memorial service was held in the Guards Chapel in London on 18 September 2007, where Anna Wintour and Geordie Greig spoke.