| Name | Manolo Blahnik |
| Company | Manolo Blahnik |
| Website | www.manoloblahnik.com |
Manolo Blahnik: Legendary of Eponymous High-End Shoe Designer
“You put high heels on and you change”
With a career spanning 40 years, Manolo Blahnik has become one of the world’s most influential footwear designers. His shoes have spellbound an international set of adoring and loyal devotees across the globe.
Blahnik’s Signature
The lines and silhouette of his distinctive designs, however, remain instantly recognisable as unique, inimitable exercises in precision and balance, exquisite workmanship and luxury.
He revived the sleek stiletto heel, which has since become a classic. He believes in the power of heels and the sex appeal they convey.
He has inherited his mother's love for brocade and satin fabrics. Silks, antique lace and brocades trimmed with delicate buckles. All were light, elegant and feminine; attributes Blahnik later brought to his own designs.
Blahnik’s Inspiration
One of Blahnik's greatest inspirations was his mother.She studied fashion magazines and interpreted the latest fashion trend on her clothing. Blahnik and his family often travelled to Paris and Madrid ordering clothes. His mother was always dissatisfied of the shoes from their hometown, so she made her own. She learned the rudiments of her craft from a local Canary Island cobbler and as a boy, Blahnik loved to watch his mother when she made beautiful shoes.
Why shoes?
Because they have a life for themselves: You have them on the floor; you look at them as objects. A dress, you have to wear it. I also love the way you can see people walking in shoes, how they decorate feet. They bring a refreshment to people’s lives. They’re entertainment for women—or their husbands.
Blahnik’s Obsession
Perfectionism. Classicst.
"A good design is about the material, the comfort, the balance of the heel and the [curve] of the shoes," Blahnik says. "To do things well, you have to reach almost to perfection. You have to be patient. [Perfection is impossible to achieve,] but you need to try hard. I have been trying hard for 45 years."
I like to finish the product beautifully, with the best materials, the perfect balance in a heel, and do the best I can. Every day I’m critical. I say, “No, this is not good enough. Boom. Out.” I kill it.
Blahnik’s first debut
The following year Blahnik began designing shoes for Zapata, and in 1972 he designed for the British designer Ossie Clark his first collection, featuring innovative designs such as the “Cherry Shoe”—a stiletto heel with imitation cherries dangling from green straps that tied around the ankle. The collection was modeled to critical acclaim by some of the era’s top models, including Twiggy, and gained the attention of the fashion elite.
Blahnik’s First Customer
The socialite Bianca Jagger as one of his earliest customers.
Where to Find
Like any great couturier, Manolo Blahnik’s shoe styles are kept to small exclusive production numbers and his style signature is easily recognizable.
Manolo Blahnik's flagship store remains to date in Old Church Street in the fashionable Chelsea district of London.
Blahnik's boutiques are located in London, New York, Las Vegas, Dublin, Athens, Madrid, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Stockholm. Bloomingdales (for which he created his first American collection), Nordstrom,Neiman Marcus, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue carry his line in the United States and newly opened in Dubai Mall. The company has signed a long-term deal with the shoewear retailer Kurt Geiger to operate Manolo Blahnik boutiques.
Some of Blahnik’s Notes
You become accomplished if you do what you do with passion. I never thought about money or success. I just wanted to make pretty things and make people happy. It’s not work.
You always have to think about what country you work in and what women there would love. For eg. in America I play with what Americans are good at—sports—so maybe you have high heels with a sport motif.
Everything is global now. It's not London, it's not Spain, it's not Italy - everything is everywhere. So you have to be everywhere, I guess.
source: HBR, Wikipedia
