Black Manolo Blahnik Patent Leather Boots
View Similar Items
Black Manolo Blahnik Patent Leather Boots
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 8.5 (US)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14724012721
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.
- Black Chanel Quilted Suede Pointed Cap-Toe Pumps Size 38By ChanelLocated in New York, NYBlack quilted suede and patent leather pointed cap-toe platform pumps by Chanel. 1" platform height, 4" heel height. Black quilted suede and patent leather pointed cap-toe platform ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Heels
$196 Sale Price20% Off - Black Celine Leather Ankle Boots Size 39.5By CelineLocated in New York, NYBlack leather heeled ankle boots by Celine. Elasticized gores at sides. Stacked heels. 5.25" shaft height, 4" heel height.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Ankle Boots
$252 Sale Price20% Off - Hermes Black Leather Strappy Wedge SandalsBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYProduct Details: Black leather strappy wedge sandals by Hermes. Gold-tone buckle closures at ankle straps. 1.5" platform height, 3.5" heel height. Designer Size: 40.5 US Recommended...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Sandals
$556 Sale Price20% Off - Rick Owens Black Suede Bootie PumpsBy Rick OwensLocated in New York, NYProduct Details: Black suede bootie pumps by Rick Owens. Stacked platforms. 3.75" shaft height, 3.75" heel height, 0.875" platform height. Designer Size: 35 US Recommended Size: 5 ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Central American Heels
$196 Sale Price20% Off - Black Gucci Pointed-Toe Suede Knee-High BootsBy GucciLocated in New York, NYBlack suede knee-high pointed-toe boots by Gucci. Pull-on style. 19" shaft height, 3" heel height. Black suede knee-high pointed-toe boots by Gucci. Pull-on style. 19" shaft height,...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Boots
$236 Sale Price20% Off - Black Saint Laurent Studded Leather Ankle Boots size 38By Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYBlack leather studded ankle boots by Saint Laurent. Silver-tone hardware. Block heels. Zip closures at inner sides. 5" shaft height, 1.5" heel height.Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Ankle Boots
$340 Sale Price20% Off
- Chanel Black and White Patent Leather Cage Peep Toe Booties Shoes Size 41 or 11By ChanelLocated in Tustin, CAHard to find size 11 or 41, Chanel Black and White Patent Leather Cage Peep Toe Booties Shoes from the Spring 2015 runway collection of the legendary luxury brand Chanel. These edgy...Category
2010s Italian Shoes
- Atelier Versace Black Satin Sling Backs, Never Worn Size 7By Atelier VersaceLocated in Buchanan, MIAtelier Versace Black Satin Sling Backs, Never Worn Size 7Category
20th Century Italian High Heels
- Atelier Versace Black Satin Sling Backs, Never Worn Size 7By Atelier VersaceLocated in Buchanan, MIAtelier Versace Black Satin Sling Backs, Never Worn Size 7Category
20th Century Italian High Heels
- Atelier Versace Black Satin High Heels, Never Worn Size 7By Atelier VersaceLocated in Buchanan, MIAtelier Versace Black Satin High Heels, Never Worn Size 7Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian High Heels
- Louis Vuitton Suede Perforated ShoesBy Louis VuittonLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLPurposely created to exude style and provide comfort wherever you go, this pair of loafers by Louis Vuitton is absolutely worth the buy! They have been finely crafted from perforated...Category
Early 2000s French Shoes
- SAINT LAURENT Farrah Star Platform SandalsBy Saint LaurentLocated in Berlin, BEThe most incredible 1970s inspired platform sandals by Saint Laurent with star embellishment. The model is Farrah. These rare platform sandals are the perfect statement shoe! These...Category
2010s French Sandals