We continue to speak about shoes. Shoes are a must in our wardrobe. Shoes play the main role in our everyday life: you have a party but you can't go without pair of stylish shoes; rainy weather outside, but you can't walk with your dog without a pair of waterproof boots; if you have a business lunch, you need representative shoes... Shoes are a must for our look! We are going to speak about people who care about our style, comfort and social status.
Manolo Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma (Canary Islands) on the 28th of November 1942. His father was Czech and mother was Hispanic by origin. The children (Manolo and his sister Evangeline) grew up in Austro-Hungarian discipline. Manolo still remembers such home rules as keep whites white, have clean nails and wear a shirt and a jacket with a cotton dust coat over the top.
Manolo Blahnik and his younger sister lived with their parents on a banana plantation, where they were home-schooled by their rigid Catholic mother. Maybe because they were close to banana plantation, Manolo had his own little monkey and guess what? He made little shoes for her. At that time there were no planes, so traveling was difficult. But after the war it went better and family settled in the mainland. Manolo, who was 12 then, went to school in Geneva, Switzerland.
After he finished school, he entered University, the faculty of languages and literature but very soon understood that it was not his path. To earn money, he sold antiques in Paris, attended lectures in Paris and London Schools of Art. Finally, he settled in London for the remainder of his life.
There, he opened his first shop in the center of Chelsea in 1973, and success doesn't leave him since. He was invited to work for Dior, replaced Roger Vivier, the leading shoes designer for this brand. Madonna, Naomi Campbell (his favorite supermodel), Sarah Jessica Parker, Ivana Trump, Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston, and Nicole Kidman are among his patrons. One pair of Manolo Blahnik's shoes costs 300 to 1100$.Once, after presentation of his new collection, a mysterious lady bought 50 pairs of his shoes at once.
Today, 4 Italian factories are dealing with Manolo Blahnik shoes. First - makes classic lightweight shoes with little heels, second - makes shoes for haute couture, third - makes casual shoes, forth - makes sporty shoes. Each of those does about 80 pairs per day.
When he speaks about his job he usually uses three words - pleasure, felicity, enjoyment. When someone speaks about his shoes, they use the same words adding only perfection to this list. Manolo always mentioned that he made shoes for all ages and all times. He puts shoes fantasies on paper and sometimes it is hard to give life to this because of his unbelievable creativity. Among a big variety of designs, women also love comfort and safety of his shoes. Sarah Jessica Parker wore 10 cm high heels from Manolo Blahnik even during her pregnancy. As a shoe-maker with self-respect, Manolo sawed up wooden last without assistance and designed a shape of heels.
His talent collected a good set of awards. Among them are Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA 1987), Spain's Balenciaga fashion prize (1988), the Nieman Marcus Award (2000), La Aguja de Oro (The Golden Needle, Spain 2001), and La Medalla de Oro en Merito en las Bellas Artes, presented by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I (2002).
Some facts from Manolo's life:
- In 1974 he was on the cover of "Vogue".
- Madonna on his shoes: "as good as sex, but the shoes last longer".
- He sells 60,000 - 70,000 pairs annually.
- He said he would never do any products by his name except shoes.
- Manolo Blahnik is 65 years old.
- Manolo always has manicure and pedicure.
- Usual height of heels on his shoes is 10 cm.
- The strangest place he has seen his shoes at was in Beijing, at the Ming emperors' tombs, when one woman wore a very light beige pair of his shoes.
- Blahnik began by designing shoes for men.
- Blahnik currently resides in a Georgian home in Bath, England, along with some 10,000 pairs of shoes.
You are going to buy your Manolo's shoes, aren't you?
