A Gothic homage to late fashion icon

A grisly "shadow portrait" of the late fashion muse and stylist Isabella Blow goes on show today at the National Portrait Gallery. Crafted from taxidermied animals, including a raven, a species of rat linked to the black death and a snake, as well as Blow’s trademark bright lipstick and a heel from one of her Manolo Blahnik shoes, the portrait shows the sitter’s head on a stake.

Though the objects resemble a disordered, moth-eaten pile, a spot-lit shadow, which is projected on to the wall behind, shows a clearly defined silhouette of Blow’s uplifted head in profile. Famous for her sartorial flamboyance, she is shown in one of her exotic Philip Treacy hats. (Blow pictured below in a Treacy creation)

The portrait sculpture was created from life in 2002 by Britart duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster and was recently donated to the gallery by Blow’s estate. It is meant, say the artists, to express Blow’s “gothic quality”.

Famed for kickstarting the careers of Alexander McQueen, of best friend and celebrated milliner Philip Treacy and of model Sophie Dahl, Blow killed herself in 2007, aged 48: after several failed attempts, she finally committed suicide by drinking the weedkiller Paraquat. Her husband, art dealer and gallerist Detmar Blow, through whom she befriended Noble and Webster, has just published a co-written biography. A biography by Martina Rink and Philip Treacy has also just been published.

• Portrait of Isabella Blow is at the National Portrait Gallery until 13 March 2011
• Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow by Detmar Blow and Tom Sykes on Amazon
• Isabella Blow by Martina Rink and Philip Treacy on Amazon