Without the aid of apprentices or assistants, Manolo Blahnik produces the finest and sexiest footwear selections on the planet. Women everywhere adore his designs. His shoes are coveted by many, including supermodels and movie stars, as they are the shoes to wear if you want to be “in.” And who doesn’t want to be in? Blahnik’s designs complete ensembles, add tons of sex appeal and keep these shining stars in the hip and happening crowd.

Amazing Creations

Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, Manolo Blahnik’s amazing creations were known among the world of fashion elite and insiders. In the early 1990’s his name became known to the millions of viewers who tuned in regularly to the British TV comedy Absolutely Fabulous. His name and designs became even more well known in the late 1990’s thanks to the HBO Series Sex and the City and Sarah Jessica Parker’s shoe-obsessed character, columnist Carrie Bradshaw.

Carrie Bradshaw had her priorities straight in one episode of the series when she pleaded with a mugger: “You can take my Fendi baguette, you can take my ring and my watch, but don’t take my Manolo Blahnik’s.” Manolo’s shoes are stylish, handcrafted, expensive and undeniably an asset worth holding onto. Unfortunately Carrie Bradshaw did not get to hold onto her’s in this particular case.

Background of a Designer

Manolo Blahnik was born on November 28, 1942 in Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands, to a Czech father and a Spanish mother. He and his sister Evangelina grew up on the family’s banana plantation where they were home schooled. The Blahnik family frequently traveled to Madrid and Paris, where his mother bought clothes from her favorite designers while his father visited the tailors in those cities. Young Manolo grew used to the sight of beautiful clothes and enjoyed gazing at the designs in his mother’s fashion magazines. As well he received an early education in the art of shoemaking by observing his mother making her own footwear, using lace and ribbon. She was his first inspiration.

Blahnik’s parents hoped that their son would become a diplomat, but after only one semester at the University of Geneva studying politics and law, Manolo transferred into literature and architecture. In 1965, he relocated to Paris to study art and stage design at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Louvre Art School, during which time he also worked at a vintage clothing store near Saint German des Pres.

Blahnik moved to London in 1970, acting on his father’s suggestion that he should make an effort to improve his English. Once there he found work in a boutique, became a photographer for The Sunday Times, and quickly became part of the fashionable art scene.