Beautiful and fashionable shoes from Manolo Blahnik

Manuel Rodrigues Blahnik is an internationally renowned shoe designer. Manuel Rodriguez is the founder of the Manolo Blahnik brand.

When he was still an aspiring designer and dreamed of making costumes for cinema and theater, Diana Vreeland advised him to deal only with accessories, namely shoes.

Biography and career
Manolo Blahnik was born on November 28, 1942 in the Canary Islands. He grew up in the city of Santa Cruz de La Palma on the island of Tenerife.

Manolo's father, a Czech by nationality, was the owner of a banana plantation in the Canary Islands, his mother is a Spanish woman, a brilliant socialite. Manuel and his sister Evangeline lived in a beautiful earthly paradise, Santa Cruz de la Palma. They were cut off from the world, grew among banana plantations ... “We had no neighbors, only my grandfather's house was nearby. Banana palms, the sea and we ... in general, paradise ”, - later recalled Manolo.

The father loved children, but was always strict with them. Before dinner, every day he checked the children’s hands, whether their hair was combed. This scrupulous attitude to his appearance remained with Manolo for the rest of his life.

And although in early childhood Manolo knew little about the world of fashion, the upbringing of parents who instilled in children a love of beauty - culture, art contributed to the development of taste and style. He grew up watching films by Visconti and Cocteau, paintings by El Greco and Velazquez. Mother loved to leaf through fashion magazines that were subscribed from the United States, such as Glamor and Vogue. These magazines traveled to them across the Atlantic Ocean for several months. She made purchases, traveling several times a year to Paris, and brought a lot of interesting things. Manolo gladly arranged fittings. He has a favorite designer - Cristobal Balenciaga (Crist? Bal Balenciaga). His mother taught him to love fashion. She was an artistic woman, good at drawing and even engraving.

In 1945, the war ended, there was nothing anywhere - what purchases could we talk about. She asked a local craftsman to teach her how to make espadrilles. Diligently following all the rules of skill, Manolo's mother learned to make espadrilles. And when they were ready, she allowed her little son to hold them in her arms for a while. Apparently, even then he had a love for fashion. And in the future, when creating a new collection, the designer, Manolo Blahnik, has always listened to his mother's opinion. In the meantime, the boy Manolo began to create shoes himself. For him then it was entertainment. He began helping a local shoemaker make traditional Catalan espadrilles. "I not only watched shoes come from ribbons and laces, but I was allowed to be involved in the process." And Manolo adorned ordinary espadrilles with all kinds of shells, stones, glass and coins. He tried to make shoes even for a dog and a tame monkey.

When Manolo graduated from high school, he entered the university in Geneva, where the whole family had moved by that time. But his occupation was the study of law and world politics. Parents dreamed of their son's diplomatic career. However, Manolo's soul did not lie at all for the study of law, and he moved to the Faculty of Literature and Architecture. But even here he did not find himself. Then Manolo decided to find his own path. He always wanted to engage in creative activity, to create something with his own hands, bringing ideas to life. In 1965 he finally decided to pursue art and moved to Paris. To support himself, he moonlighted as a salesman in a vintage boutique. He spent almost five years in Paris, learned a lot, but never got used to the French mentality.

In 1970, Manolo, at the invitation of the owner of the store "Zapata", went to the UK. It was in this small store that the history of the world famous brand began.Here Manolo Blahnik began to create his beautiful sketches of women's clothing and shoes, and at the same time wrote articles for the magazine Vogue Italia.

Creating design orders, Manolo dreamed of becoming a famous artist and dealing with theatrical costumes. He already had the development of sketches, which Manolo decided to show to the editors of some fashion magazines. Having connections in the cultural social life, he met many interesting people, including Paloma Picasso, the youngest daughter of Pablo Picasso. It was she who introduced him to the editor of American Vogue Diana Vreeland. Manolo travels to New York to show his sketches to Diana. She highly appreciated his work. But when she saw a small drawing of a plush shoe decorated with a cherry twig, she said: “Why don't you make accessories? Take care of your shoes - you are great at it. " From that moment on, he got serious about shoe design.

Soon, together with one of the Italian shoe manufacturers, he opens a company in which Manolo's sister Evagelina helps to manage.

And in 1973, on the site of the Zapata store, in London's Chelsea district, the first Manolo Blahnik brand store was opened. The first collection brings Manolo fame, fans appear, including fashion critics and celebrities: Charlotte Rampling, Bianca Jagger, Jane Birkin, Jerry Hall. They grab his wares. But Manolo is working not only on the creation of products for his company. He collaborates with the famous fashion house Ossie Clark, then with Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Christian Dior, Zandra Rhodes, Rifat Ozbek, Yves Sent Laurent, Jean Muir, John Galliano. By 1974, Manolo Blahnik had gained popularity that he had never dreamed of.

In 1979, another store opens on Madison Avenue in New York. His products are also sold at the famous department store Bloomingdales.

In the 80s, Manolo Blahnik collaborated with such giants of the fashion world as Isaac Mizrahi, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta.

The main features of Manolo Blahnik's style are sophistication, sophistication and complexity of design. He began to make beautiful and technically flawless shoes, although he never studied the technology of shoe production. It took him almost ten years to learn his craft to perfection. And he studied it directly in factories. He was a supporter of classicism. His shoes were significantly different from those made at the time.

Most likely, his success is due to his great love for his work, creative energy. Pointed shoes in the 70s of the twentieth century - a classic of modern fashion - this is Manolo's idea. Those who have put on Manolo shoes at least once remain loyal fans forever.

Cinematography also brought huge popularity to the brand. For example, the American TV series "Sex and the City". After the release of the film, the women flocked to the Manolo boutique in a crowd. Everyone wanted blue satin shoes like Sarah Jessica Parker, who in the role of Carrie Bradshaw, when meeting with the robber, says: "Sir, please take your Fendi handbag, take your ring and watch, but just don't touch my Manolo Blahnik." Critics have called Manolo's shoes "the fifth star" in the film, in which the first four are the protagonists.

There are other films in which the glory of the designer sounded: "Life in the Vogue style", "Marie Antoinette". The latter was awarded an Oscar for the best costumes. Shoes from Manolo Blahnik flaunt on the feet of Marge Simpson - the heroine of the popular cartoon "The Simpsons". His fame as one of the best shoemakers in the fashion world is immense. Once, at one of the presentations, a lady came up to him and asked to put an autograph on her leg, and some time later, she came to show him the tattoo of his autograph.

Designer awards

1987 - Council of Fashion Designers of America Award - Best Women's Shoes Designer.

1988 Balenciaga Special Award.

2000 - Nieman Marcus Award

2001 - Prize "Golden Needle" (La Aguja de Oro).

2002 - King Juan Carlos I of Spain presented Manolo Blahnik with the Medal for Achievement in the Arts.

In 2003, Manolo Blahnik became the first shoe designer to be featured in an exhibition at the London Design Museum. In the same year, the artist's sketchbook was published.

2007 - Manolo Blahnik becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his invaluable contribution to the development of the English fashion industry.

2012 - Manolo Blahnik won the Fashion Excellence Award from the British Fashion Council.

How is the production of Manolo Blahnik footwear organized?
Manolo Blahnik has several factories, each with its own specialization. One is engaged in the manufacture of only classic shoes, the other - for fashion shows, two more factories make daily and sports shoes. One of them is located in the Italian city of Parabiago. The volume of production at this factory is no more than one hundred pairs of shoes per day. This is because each model requires increased attention. Most of the work is done by hand. And Manolo Blahnik himself controls all the details in production, and always strives to bring the model to perfection.

The factory has only the most skilled workers. What is the result? - Exclusive products.

Victoria and her shoes from Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik shoes are desirable and incredibly prestigious. Demand for Manolo's products is almost always not satisfied. But the designer prefers freedom in creativity, so he doesn't even want to hear about mass production. With a limited number of exclusive shoes, there is always excitement, although the possession of shoes from Manolo Blahnik is very expensive.

The possession of shoes from Manolo Blahnik speaks of the high status of the owner. Perhaps for some, these shoes are too expensive, but after all, they are made by hand, moreover, from expensive materials, and therefore they serve for a very long time. It won't have to be thrown away after a few months.

His firm is successful, but not large. This is, one might say, a family company, in which the first assistants are his sister, niece and several other people.

Manolo retains his independence, because he likes freedom of action most of all. For him, the option is unacceptable where, in order to change some small detail, you have to go through many meetings and permissions from others. He creates his models only himself and does not want anyone to correct him. Manolo Blahnik is his own master, he is happy that he does everything in his vision.

Where does Manolo Blahnik get his inspiration?
How does he manage to create constantly new and new models? Working on the model, he imagines the woman for whom he creates this pair of shoes, so there are millions of ideas in his head.

When he travels, he is interested in everything related to the country and the culture of the people - how they live, what clothes they wear, what songs they sing and much more. And then ideas appear that add up to a truly exclusive collection.

The creative person is always looking for sources of inspiration. His muses include Audrey Hepburn, Marcello Mastroianni, Jane Birkin, Grace Kelly, Françoise Hardy. They were beautiful, talented and at the same time interesting personalities with exceptional taste - the stars of the past. Now it is difficult to find that in one person beauty, talent, personality, taste and style are so beautifully combined.

Russian constructivism, Diaghilev and his ballets are another source of inspiration. Almost a hundred years have passed since the sensational Diaghilev ballets, and in the art world to this day they never cease to amaze and inspire. For him, Russia is an imperial style with its luxury. Manolo Blahnik himself says that the color of gold and ivory for him is the personification of the imperial luxurious style of Russia.

The most loyal fans of the brand are such world stars as Kylie Minogue, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Campbell, Madonna, Winona Ryder and many others.

Manolo Blahnik brand stores can be found in the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Spain, Korea, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Turkey, Dubai and Singapore.

Manolo Blahnik's style is timeless. He is called the greatest shoe maker because Manolo knows how to make a woman dazzling.

The Manolo Blahnik company is known and famous all over the fashion world, and his name began to be used as a household name. The current Vogue editor Anna Wintour once called his shoes - "manolo". And now in the fashion world, this one term means shoes made by Manolo Blahnik, and not only the shoes of Manolo himself, this term began to be called the best exclusive shoes.