Manolo Blahnik Brown T-Strap Heels
View Similar Items
Manolo Blahnik Brown T-Strap Heels
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 40 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 4-21651stDibs: AU140411532546
Manolo Blahnik
There may be no designer with as wide a breadth of references as the fashion and footwear icon Manolo Blahnik, whose stated sources of inspiration for the creation of his sublime shoes include — but are not limited to — Diana Vreeland, ancient Greece, 21st-century architecture, Spanish cinema and Piet Mondrian.
It’s a fittingly robust list for someone who has spent a lifetime in the self-described “pursuit of beauty.”
Born in 1942 in Spain’s Canary Islands, Blahnik had an early exposure to shoemaking: During World War II, his designer-shoe-loving mother enlisted a local cobbler to teach her to make her own footwear from available materials. The young Blahnik was intrigued.
After briefly studying law in Switzerland with the intention of becoming a diplomat, Blahnik moved to Paris, where he took a job in a vintage clothing shop while studying art at École des Beaux-Arts as well as set design at the art school of the Louvre. It wasn’t until years later, however, that he would realize his calling as a shoe designer. In the late 1960s, Blahnik relocated to London, where he worked for both the Sunday Times and Vogue. In the early 1970s, the renowned American Vogue editor Diana Vreeland saw his sketches and urged him to pursue footwear.
After a debut collection for celebrated fashion designer Ossie Clark — featuring models that Blahnik had gotten to know through his work in the fashion industry, among them Twiggy — received acclaim, he created footwear for illustrious dressmaker Jean Muir and apprenticed with professional shoemakers in London to perfect his craft. By 1973 he had bought out the shoe boutique Zapata and made it his own. Bloomingdale’s introduced him to the American market with a collection a few years later.
Vintage Manolo Blahnik shoes are famous for their theatricality, as the designer is well known for the whimsical, fantastical elements he brings to footwear, often in an explosive palette. “I have always approached color in a bold way, from all angles and variations,” he once said. “Always searching for the poetry of an impossible color.” Tack on teetering height as a trademark that took shape from early on.
“Those poor girls couldn’t walk properly, but people loved it,” the designer recalled of his early models. “Sir Cecil Beaton said to me, ‘Is this a new way of walking?’” To take it from pop culture, it indeed might have been: People are still talking about the night that Bianca Jagger dazzled, horseback, at Studio 54 in a Halston dress and Blahnik shoes on her 30th birthday, and, decades later, the footwear icon was rendered a household name during the long-running television series Sex and the City.
Today, Manolo Blahnik remains a virtual synonym for luxury shoes. Find a range of his footwear and handbags on 1stDibs.
- Chanel Paris-Moscow Wedge BootsBy ChanelLocated in Krakow, PLFrom the Pre-Fall 2009 Runway Collection. Red leather Chanel Paris-Moscow thigh-high cap-toe boots with rounded toes, metallic gold perforated leather lace covered platforms and we...Category
Early 2000s Boots
Sold$828 - Prada Women's Sport Rubber Talco White Rain Boots Size US 8, EU 38By PradaLocated in Milford, DEStylish Prada rain boots in talco white, featuring sport rubber upper and fabric lined interior, and a silvertone Prada logo plaque on the side. Made ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Boots
$760 Sale Price20% Off - Champion Putty Beige Tennis Shoe Mens (13 US)Located in Montreal, QuebecCOLOR: Putty MATERIAL: Synthetic ITEM CODE: 168749 SIZE: 13 US CONDITION: Used sneakers with stains on the sides and bottoms. Made in China -----------...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Shoes
- Balenciaga Classic Logo Red Socks (Medium)By BalenciagaLocated in Montreal, QuebecCOLOR: Red MATERIAL: 80% Cotton & 18% Polyamide & 2% Elastane ITEM CODE: 530181 NOSIZ SIZE: Medium 9 (20-22 cm) COMES WITH: Box CONDITION: Brand new. Made in ItalyCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Mr. B's Brown Leather Oxfords (11 US)Located in Montreal, QuebecCOLOR: Brown / beige MATERIAL: Leather / vero cuoio SIZE: 11 US COMES WITH: Shoe box CONDITION: Signs of use consistent with light use. Used once. Stains on the bottoms and sides. Small marks. Made in China ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CARTEBLANCHESHOP.COM is an online boutique which also provides curation, consignment and customization services for authentic designer luxury items. CARTEBLANCHESHOP.COM is not an authorized brand dealer of Hermes, Chanel, Gucci, Saint Laurent or Dior nor are we affiliated with these brands. We purchase many of our products outright through private auctions, individual collections, and directly from clients. We stand behind each and every carefully selected piece in our collection. All items sold on CARTEBLANCHESHOP.COM are 100% authentic and are carefully reviewed by experts with over a decade of combined experience in authenticating...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Shoes
- Burberry Nylon Suede Pop Sneakers Womens (37 EU)Located in Montreal, QuebecThese Burberry runners feature University of Michigan colors blue and yellow. Perfect for Ann Arbor Students! They are made with yellow nylon and blue suede with contrasting white sh...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes