Manolo Blahnik (pronounced /məˈnoʊloʊ ˈblænɨk/ BLAN-ik), CBE, (born 28 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 born and raised in the Canary Islands (Spain), 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."
In the Will and Grace episode Polk Defeats Truman (season 2 episode 5) Grace scoffs at Karen's budget imposed on her by her husband by saying "Karen, I think you can live on this. I mean Spain does, so..." Karen retorts "Grace they wear tires on their feet, I wear Manolo Blahniks."
There are also many references to Blahniks in the popular long-running TV show "Sex and the City" (They are a particular favorite of Carrie Bradshaw.)
In Weird Al Yankovic's song "Close but No Cigar", He mentions Julie, a girl who "Wore a ribbon on her left Manolo"
In Beyoncé Knowles' version of "In Da Club", she mentions that she is "The chick with the 'hot ish' Manolo Blahnik."
Mira Sorvino wears them in "The Last Templar (TV miniseries)" and asks Scott Foley to pay for them after she chased a criminal on a horse. Scott's colleague mentions "If you have to ask, you can't afford them".
They are referenced multiple times in Duck Dodgers whenever any sort of footwear defect occurs, typically with the grumbled phrase "Cheap counterfeit Minolo Blahniks".
In her song, Fashion (From Confessions of a Shopaholic), Lady GaGa mentions "Manolo".
In the book, "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell, she refers to her friend Sally buying manolos on E-bay which made her friend deliciously sexy.
In Jay-Z's song "Nigga Please", he disses rappers, saying they are seldom seen with women who wear Manolo Blahniks.
Notes
References
External links
![Clip .com Carries infamous "Urban Shoe Myth" Manolo Blahnik Campari Mary Jane Heels ... Sex and the City Urban Shoe Myth Manolo ... Video](/viewVideo.html?title=Sex and the City Urban Shoe Myth&videoType=YouTube&summary=.com Carries infamous "Urban Shoe Myth" Manolo Blahnik Campari Mary Jane Heels ... Sex and the City Urban Shoe Myth Manolo ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/KXSlUAS2MNw&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/KXSlUAS2MNw/default.jpg&celebrity=Manolo Blahnik)
