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Manolo Blahnik Bio
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Manolo Blahnik Biography Until the advent of the popular American series based in Manhattan, ‘Sex and the City’ which tackled socially relevant issues in the 1990’s, Manolo Blahnik could almost have passed as a bad hand in scrabble to the less fashion conscious shopper. Manolo Blahnik is a Spanish fashion designer born on November 27th, 1942 and has become, over the years one of the world's most prominent designers in women's shoes. Being born in the Canary Islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, makes the designer Spanish, born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother he was raised on a banana plantation. Manolo and his younger sister Evangelina were educated at home rather than being sent away to school as their plantation was situated miles from the nearest neighbours. Manolo’s parents made frequent visits to Madrid and Paris to buy their clothes and when his mother would improvise on the Paris fashions by making her own espadrilles, Manolo would watch and learn the skill that would later make him the famous New York designer that he has would later become. His parents hoped that Blahnik would become a diplomat and to those ends enrolled him at university in Geneva to study politics and law but after a term, he switched to the more congenial subjects of literature and architecture. In 1965 Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva with a degree in literature followed by studies in art Paris. Within in five years Blahnik’s father suggested that he move to London where he enrolled in a language school but rarely attended lessons, preferring to spend his time in Leicester Square watching movies and reading fashion magazines. Within months he opened his first fashion boutique in the then fashionable area of Chelsea which was, at that time, synonymous with The Beatles’ fashions and the famous Carnaby Street.
After making a meager living in boutiques and from occasional design jobs, in 1971 Blahnik took a portfolio of his drawings to New York where Paloma Picasso, designer daughter of Pueblo Picasso a friend from Paris arranged for him to meet a designed who suggested that he turn his attention to designing shoes. 1979 saw Blahnik opening his first store on Madison Avenue in New and within five years had risen to such heights as to be asked to designs shoes for Calvin Klein’s ready-to-wear collections in 1984 and by 1997 Manolo creates the shoes for John Galliano’s first couture collection for Christian Dior. His designs quickly gained the recognition of hip young actresses like Marisa Berenson, Jane Birkin and Charlotte Rampling and even vintage Hollywood stars like Lauren Bacall were desperate to own a pair of Blahnik’s shoes. After perfecting his skill he was portrayed in magazines as a handsome, cultured man-about-town and in 1974, he became the first man to appear on the cover of British Vogue – photographed in a passionate clutch with Angelica Huston by British photographer David Bailey. Slowly he broke into the US by creating a collection for Bloomingdales after opening his first US store where he attracted celebrities such as Bianca Jagger, ex-wife of Mick Jagger. His designs were influenced by great designers such as Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent and were often flamboyant and vividly coloured, but designed to last a life time. Lasting a life time would be a necessity when his shoes are priced in stores between $500 to $2500. They often come with stiletto heels, which can reach as high as five and a half inches, and embellishments like beads or ribbons. Manolo’s shoes really reached a wider audience when they were featured in the television show ‘Sex and the City’ and he was said to be the "fifth star" of the show after the show's four lead actresses, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.
There are two Blahnik boutiques in the United States located in Manhattan and Las Vegas. ABB |
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