Manolo Blahnik Black Leather Shoes. Size 7 (38, 5)
View Similar Items
Manolo Blahnik Black Leather Shoes. Size 7 (38, 5)
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Paris, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU52032074613
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.
- New Fendi Karl Lagerfeld Ad Runway Fur and Suede Platform Boots Booties Sz 39By FendiLocated in Leesburg, VAFendi Fur Boots by Karl Lagerfeld Brand New * Euro: 39 * Stunning Beaver Fur Lines the Front and the Inside of the Boots * Soft Taupe Nubuck Leather ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
$1,800 Sale Price20% Off - Louis VuittonGold/ Brown Monogram Canvas EpadrilleBy Louis VuittonLocated in Bilbao, ESLouis Vuitton Gold/ Brown Monogram Canvas and Patent Leather Bahamas T Strap Espadrille Made In: Italy Color: Brown Size: 39 The espadrilles wedges are fin...Category
Early 2000s French Shoes
- Platform Sandals Stella McCartney Cotton and Patent Leather Sandals with WoodenBy Stella McCartneyLocated in Bilbao, ESPlatform Sandals Stella McCartney Cotton and Patent Leather Sandals with Wooden Heel Made In: Italy Color: Black Materials: Cotton and Patent Leather Marked Size: 39,5 Europe Heel ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shoes
- TOD'S brown ballerinas with round toe and lace bowLocated in Bilbao, ESTOD'S brown ballerinas Two-tone print, round toe, bow, contrasting applications, rubber sole with studs, flat heel Size 39 Our Company has a Fashion Division is specialised in Euro...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- 2006 Chanel Spring Collection Leather BootsBy ChanelLocated in Toronto, OntarioBlack leather Chanel kitten heel leather boots from the 2006 Spring RTW collection. Featured prominently on the runway, these black tone on t...Category
Early 2000s French Shoes
- 1980s Mario Valentino Black Suede Knee BootsBy Mario ValentinoLocated in Toronto, Ontario1980s Mario Valentino black suede knee high boots with whipstitch detail. The boots have an almond shaped toe box and a low to mid height block heel. Pirate inspired, the gorgeous bo...Category
1980s Italian Shoes