Vintage Manolo Blahnik Size 38.5 / 8.5 Black and White Spectator Flats / Shoes
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 38.5 / US 8.5 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6627971262
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Diego, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Karl Lagerfeld 1990s Size 6 Black Suede Leather Bondage Inspired Vintage HeelsBy Karl LagerfeldLocated in San Diego, CACollectible vintage 90s KARL LAGERFELD black suede leather bondage inspired high heel shoes! Features three straps across the ankle with elastic at each side. Gold logo encrusted stu...Category
1990s Italian High Heels
- Missoni Size 36 / 6 Green + Yellow Zig Zag Platforms Peep Toe High Heels ShoesBy MissoniLocated in San Diego, CAAdd a bit of jazz to any outfit in these early 2000s vintage MISSONI peep toe platform high heels ! Features the signature chevron zig zag patterns in kelly green, yellow, white and ...Category
Early 2000s Italian High Heels
- Sergio Rossi Size 36 / 6 Eel Skin Black Platform Peep Toe Sling Back High HeelsBy Sergio RossiLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful SERGIO ROSSI black eel skin and leather platform high heels in Size 36 / US 6 ! Stacked platforms. Make these beauties easy and comfortable to wear all day. Slingback style...Category
2010s Italian High Heels
- Size 5 Vintage Charles Jourdan Black + Brown Leather Wicker Heels / Shoes Size 5By Charles Jordan, Charles JourdanLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful vintage Charles Jourdan fetish black + brown leather wicker heels! Intricate design, that can easily be dressed up or down. Strong st...Category
1980s Italian Heels
- Rare Vintage Charles Jourdan Size 7.5 Merlot Wine Velvet Ostrich Feather BootiesBy Charles JourdanLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing and rare vintage Charles Jourdan (Size 7.5) ankle boots shoes! Rich burgundy velvet, with ostrich feathers at ankles. Victorian styled...Category
1990s Spanish Ankle Boots
- Marni Size 10 / 40 Early 2000s Black Suede Cut - Out Knee High Wedges BootsBy MarniLocated in San Diego, CAEarly 2000s MARNI black suede leather cut-out knee high wedges boots ! The perfect statements boots that retailed for $1,700 when purchased. Can easily be dressed up or down, day or ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Boots
- F/W 1997 Gucci by Tom Ford GG Monogram Black Pony Hair Metal 4.5" Heel Boots 37CBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of pony hair 'GG' monogram steel heel boots designed by Tom Ford for Gucci's Fall/Winter 1997 collection. The red velvet and black patent leather version of these h...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- 1990s Dolce & Gabbana Brown Neoprene Boot Heels Size 38.5By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a fabulous pair of brown neoprene Dolce and Gabbana heeled boots. From the late 1990s, these never before worn vintage boots are perfectly modern. The boots feature a small platform and patent leather toe. These rare boots...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- Salvatore Ferragamo Brown Patent and Green Snake Loafers - 5By Salvatore FerragamoLocated in West Palm Beach, FLThese Salvatore Ferragamo loafers are brown patent leather with green snake skin. They have brown stitching and are a size 5. They are in excellent c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Fendi Denim Slides with Multi-Colored Embroidered and Beaded Design - 7MBy FendiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLFendi Denim Slides with Multi-Colored Embroidered and Beaded Design - 7M. These slides have a square toe shape and a band over the top of the foot. The band is denim colored and has ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Manolo Blahnik Black Satin Strappy Heels - 36.5By Manolo BlahnikLocated in West Palm Beach, FLManolo Blahnik Black Satin Strappy Heels - 36.5. These beautiful heels black satin with criss-crossed straps. On the ankle strap there is a gold cl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Vintage Horsebit Gucci Shoes in Black Suede Size 7.5 With BoxBy FerragamoLocated in Portland, ORThese black suede vintage Gucci shoes have the classic silver horse bit buckles and are marked a size 7 and 1/2 B. The calf suede shoes come with ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Shoes