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Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik started his career in shoes in the Seventies and he continues today to be an iconic fashion designer of beautiful and timeless designs. Today his shoes are synonymous with glamour and sex appeal and the shoes themselves are as notorious as the women that wear them.

Manolo Blahnik was born in 1943 in the Canary Islands and lived on a banana farm. He started studying architecture and literature at the University of Geneva, but moved to Paris in 1968. Two years later he found himself in London working briefly as a photographer for the Sunday Times where he immediately fell in love with fashion. Here he made friends with Paloma Picasso and Eric Boman a photographer. On a trip to New York in 1971, he met Diana Vreeland, the then editor-in-chief of US Vogue. At that point, Blahnik wanted to design in theater, but after showing Vreeland his sketches and she had admired the shoes he had on, she convinced him to “concentrate on the funny little things on the feet”. We can all thank Vreeland for being so successful in convincing Manolo Blahnik, or we would not know what his shoes are today.

His first collection was for Ossie Clark in 1972, and since then his shoes have graced fashion shows and fashion week for a large number of fashion designers. In 1973, he opened Zapata, a boutique on Old Church Street in London that saw regulars such as Bianca Jagger, Marie Helvin, and Jerry Hall. He became somewhat of an uncle to Bianca’s baby Jade Jagger and would visit frequently and even change Jade’s diapers.

Contrary to popular belief, it was not Sex and the City that put Manolos on the map, but rather Marge Simpson. In 1991she wore a pair of his mules during an episode of The Simpsons. It was not long after that for his shoes to take on ‘supporting roles’ in Sex and the City and Absolutely Fabulous.

He is a true craftsman with an eye for detail, and he plays a role in the creation of every design – from his own ad campaigns that always highlight his drawings. During his 30 year career his shoes have become sought after and yet his business is very small with only two boutiques – one in London and one in New York. He has been named Accessory Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council in 1990 and 1999, and also has honorary doctorates from the Royal London College of Art and the Royal Society of Arts in Britain. In 2003 he received an exhibition of his drawings at the Design Museum in London.