Manolo Blahnik (pronounced /mənoʊloʊ blænɪk/), CBE, (born 27 November 1942 Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands, is a Spanish born British fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.
Biography
Display of a Manolo Blahnik shoe.
Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and raised in the Canary Islands, Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris. He moved to London in 1968 to work at fashion boutique Zapata and write for Vogue Italia. After showing his portfolio of fashions and set designs to Diana Vreeland, she told him that he should design only footwear. In 1972, Ossie Clark invited him to create shoes for his runway show. With a loan of £2,000, Blahnik bought Zapata from its owner and opened his own boutique. 1
Manolo Blahnik's flagship store remains to date in Old Church Street, Chelsea London.
Blahnik's boutiques are located in London, New York, Las Vegas, Dublin, Athens, Madrid, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore. Bloomingdales (for which he created his first American collection), Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue carry his line in the United States and newly opened in Dubai Mall.
Blahnik was awarded the honorary title of Commander of the British Empire in 2007 for his service to the British fashion industry.
In popular culture
The staff of the TV show, Angel, asked Manolo Blahnik for permission to use their company name onscreen. The company then provided footwear for the episode and insisted that characters wear the products even if the shoes were not shown on camera. The company was mentioned in the line: Cordelia: [to Eve] "Get out of that chair, and I will feed you those Manolo Blahniks - which are stunning, by the way."
There are also many references to Blahniks in the popular long-running TV show "Sex and the City".
Also, in Beyoncé Knowles' version of "In Da Club", she mentions that she is "The chick with the 'hot ish' Manolo Blahnik."
References
- ^ Manolo Blahnik Design Museum Retrieved 7 August 2008
nydailynews Brian Reyes decides to ditch the shoes
External links
