Manolo Blahnik Woven Mule Kitten Heels
View Similar Items
Manolo Blahnik Woven Mule Kitten Heels
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14723891803
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.
- Vintage Beige & Multicolor Prada Printed Leather Ballet Flats Size 37.5By PradaLocated in New York, NYVintage Beige & Multicolor Prada Printed Leather Ballet Flats Size 37.5Category
1990s Shoes
$260 Sale Price20% Off - Chanel Pink & Multicolor Snakeskin Pointed-Toe HeelsBy ChanelLocated in New York, NYProduct Details: Pink, green, and black snakeskin pointed-toe heels by Chanel. Lace-up tie closures at tops. 3.5" heel height. Designer Size: 37 US Recommended Size: 7 Condition: P...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Heels
$224 Sale Price20% Off - Mansur Gavriel Beige Suede Heeled Slide SandalsBy Mansur GavrielLocated in New York, NYProduct Details: Beige suede heeled slide sandals by Mansur Gavriel. 2" heel height. Designer Size: 38 US Recommended Size: 8 Condition: Pre-owned. Good. Moderate wear at outer sol...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Sandals
$148 Sale Price20% Off - Black & Multicolor Stubbs & Wootton Velvet Loafers Size 37.5By Stubbs & WoottonLocated in New York, NYBlack, red, and gold velvet embroidered flat loafers by Stubbs & Wootton. Grosgrain trim. Stacked heels. 0.5" heel height. Black, red, and gold velvet embroidered flat loafers by St...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Shoes
$196 Sale Price20% Off - Black Christian Louboutin Knee-High Pointed-Toe Pocket Boots Size 39By Christian LouboutinLocated in New York, NYBlack leather knee-high pointed-toe cargo pocket boots by Christian Louboutin. Buckle accents at tops. 15" shaft height, 4.25" heel height. Black leather knee-high pointed-toe cargo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Boots
$740 Sale Price20% Off - Taupe AllSaints Suede Combat Boots Size 38Located in New York, NYTaupe suede combat boots by AllSaints. Lug soles. Shearling lining. Gold-tone hardware. Lace-up tie and buckle closures. 5.5" shaft height, 1.75" heel height.Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Boots
- VERSACE BEIGE LEATHER SANDALS SHOES with GOLD MEDUSA STUDS 40.5By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Beige leather sandals shoes with gold and silver studs and famous Medusa Studs DETAILS: Open toe and heel Buckling ankle strap closure Content: 100% Leather (Lining and...Category
2010s Italian Heels
- New $2650 GIANNI BARBATO Western Bullhide Leather Embroidered Boots 35.5 - 5.5Located in Montgomery, TXGIANNI BARBATO Western Bullhide Gold Leather Boots Italian size 35.5 - US 5.5 100% Leather, Gold-tone Color with Green Flowers Embroidery, Laminated Eff...Category
2010s Italian Boots
$796 Sale Price20% Off - S/S 18 L# 52 VERSACE MULTI COLOR MARILYN MONROE TRIBUTE 1990 size 37 - 7By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Collection: Spring Summer 2018 Model Name / Style: Mule heel Material: Fabric; lamb leather Color: Multicolour Pattern: Abstract; pop art print Closure: Slip on Lining...Category
2010s Italian Shoes
$996 Sale Price20% Off - MIU MIU nude pink patent leather CRYSTAL EMBELLISHED Ballet Flats Shoes 37By Miu MiuLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Miu Miu ballet flats in nude patent leather embellished with Swarovski crystals at tip. Brand new. Come with dust bag. Measuremen...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- JOHN GALLIANO brown leather LEAF WOODEN Platform Sandals Shoes 39By John GallianoLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic John Galliano wooden ankle-strap platform sandals in light green, brown embossed and holographic brown patent leather embellished with taupe and olive green leaves. Ha...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- FENDI beige leather Platform Mule Sandals Shoes 41By FendiLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Fendi chunky platform mules in beige, rose, white and black leather. Block heel and the iconic wavy trim. Embossed sole and heel. Have be...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes