UK: SHOE DESIGNER MANOLO BLAHNIK OPENS HIS FIRST EXHIBITION IN LONDON'S DESIGN MUSEUM

Record ID: 787805

  • Title: UK: SHOE DESIGNER MANOLO BLAHNIK OPENS HIS FIRST EXHIBITION IN LONDON'S DESIGN MUSEUM
  • Date: 3rd February 2003
  • Summary: (L!3) DESIGN MUSEUM, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 31, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) SHOE DESIGNER MANOLO BLAHNIK ARRIVING AT EXHIBITION VARIOUS OF BLAHNIK VARIOUS OF BLAHNIK'S SHOES AT THE EXHIBITION DRESS AND SHOES DESIGNED IN COLLABORATION WITH JOHN GALLIANO FOR THE DIOR FASHION HOUSE. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHOE DESIGNER MANOLO BLAHNIK SAYING: "The most important
  • Embargoed: 18th February 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: THE DESIGN MUSEUM, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADWA186VAUT4PD2SK9YH5QJ6ED
  • Story Text: Shoe designer to the stars, Manolo Blahnik, has opened his first exhibition in London's Design Museum.
    Celebrity cobbler, Manolo Blahnik, is shoemaker to some of the world's most famous women and on Monday (February 3) he inaugurated an exhibition of his footwear at London's Design Museum.
    Ordinary people, who cannot justify splashing out on a pair of coverted Blahnik slippers, can at least get a close look at the glamour so few can afford.
    Manolo Blahnik is renowned for his exotic and expensive high heels worn by stars such as Australian film star Nicole Kidman, American cult singer Madonna and British super-model Kate Moss.
    The London exhibition, which runs until the middle of May, features rare prototypes of his creations as well as sketches and memorabilia from his own private archive.
    Blahnik is known for his eclectic approach to design. His mix of styles, shapes, fabrics and colours reflect his strong affinity to different cultures and his skill in extracting their essence.
    Studded with diamonds, emeralds, beads, feathers and fur, Blahnik's leather, silk and satin slippers are loved by celebrities who share his admiration for all things beautiful.
    "The most important thing is to see the beauty and then the shoes come like you know...easy. There are so many things that people don't expect to be beautiful," Blahnik said.
    Madonna reportedly said his shoes are "as good as sex, but they last longer".
    Blahnik shoes achieved mass cult status when actress Sarah Jessica Parker made them her character's most prized possessions in the hit television series 'Sex and the City' and her character, Carrie Bradshaw told a robber he could take her watch and ring, "but don't take my Manolo Blahniks".
    "I'm a curious person and I like to know what people want or guess what people want, and I love to please somehow or provoke certain excitement in anything I do. This is the only thing that keeps me going," Blahnik said.
    Many consider his shoes to be works of art.
    Blahnik says he likes to be involved in every step of their production as they are painstakingly crafted over a period of several days.
    "The process of being there, cutting, doing the shoes, its not that quick. A few days in the factory looking at patterns, playing with materials and wood and things like that. Then a few seconds later seeing the thing done is a great kick for me, I really like it," he said.
    The exhibition spans across 30 years of Blahnik's carreer and shows how he has been influenced by fashion gurus like Yves Saint Laurent and Cristobal Balenciaga. Blahnik has also collaborated with designer John Galliano with whom he worked at the fashion house Dior in the 1990's.
    Born in the Canary Islands in 1942 he was educated at home before studying law in Geneva. After dropping out of University in 1965, he lived in Paris and London hoping to become a theatre designer. Blahnik probably owes his success to fashion editor Diana Vreeland who took one look at his sketches and suggested he give up the theatre and design shoes instead.
    It was in the 1970's that Blahnik revived the stiletto and since then has constantly experimented with unconventional forms of materials such as metals and plastics Manolo Blahnik started from modest beginnings and taught himself shoe-making by studying factory craftsmen.
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