In 1984 Blahnik was invited to design shoes for Calvin Klein’s ready-to-wear collections. The experience taught him a great deal about designing shoes for a wider market. He collaborated with fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi in 1988. The very first Manolo Blahnik shoe store opened in Hong King in 1991.
The following year he created shoes for John Galliano’s signature label. Throughout the decade he continued to collaborate with top fashion designers, names like Bill Blass, Caroline Herrara and Oscar de la Renta, and in the year 1994, worked with all three of the big names. He reteamed with Galliano for Galliano’s first couture collection for Christian Dior in 1997.
Awards
In 2000 Manolo Blahnik received the Nieman Marcus Award while the following year he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from London’s Royal College of Arts and was also made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry. Also in 2001 he received La Aguja de Oro (The Golden Needle) from Spain and the prestigious Medalla de Oro en Merito en Bellas Artes in 2002. In 2003, Blahnik became the first shoe designer to be honored with an exhibition at London’s Design Museum, which ran from February until May of that year.