Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards

For a man who doesn’t like to be around people because he doesn’t like how people smell…Manolo Blahnik has been deified by celebrities as “The Godfather of Sole,” though he sees himself more as a Dickensian shop keeper whose designs have become a part of a woman’s language. Mentioned on Sex and the City, he was the first man to appear on the cover of Vogue and got his push after Diana Vreeland suggested he should “concentrate on the shoes,” which he went on to design for Bianca Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Rihanna, Karlie Kloss and fashion icons Anna Piaggi and Isabella Blow. He made 23 pairs of shoes for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette movie which looked as if a woman was sliding her feet into pastries. Active at the time that London broke all the rules during the Swingin’ ’60s when it replaced Paris as a fashion hub, Manolo is known for his kitten heels and signature pumps, and according to Andre Leon Tally in director Michael Roberts documentary, “he’s a poet up there with Baudelaire!” Platitudes seem to have been his mainstay, that and some oddly floral footwear.

[NR]