The Mind of Manolo

It is one thing to analyze what a shoe theoretically says about its wearer. It’s quite another to analyze what a shoe does to its wearer, what it literally brings out in them. For Manolo Blahnik, the man behind heels of brazen height, shoes bring a sensuousness to a woman’s walk. “Your body sways to a different kind of tempo,” he has said referring to the change his towering shoes effect on a woman’s body. Blahnik believes wholeheartedly in the innate transformative power of a good shoe.

The Spanish born heel genius was directed by Diana Vreeland back in the 1960’s to only design shoes, a prescient direction from the thenl Editor-in-Chief at American Vogue that has paid off many times over. It is advice that he still adheres to today with few exceptions.

The New York Times recently published a story by Elizabeth Hayt regarding the technology that goes into crafting shoes of such great heights. Stiletto height has been increased dramatically by Blahnik and collegues over the past few decades, although Blahnik will not make heels higher that 115 millimeters for fear of compromising “grace and femininity.”

His shoes, like others, rely upon Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene as the strong, malleable base of the shoe, a “martini glass” ring of screws at the heel, steel rods that run thoughout the shoe, and several layers of purposeful padding at each place of the foot. Such technologies make the shoes balanced, wearable, and durable.

Back in 2008, Blahnik voiced his shock over the prices that people will pay for designer shoes as well as his dismay at what it costs to create such luxe products using as crocodile. The only to turn a profit it, he attested, was to create a better shoe than his competitors with less opulent materials. It is well known that the prominence of his shoes on Sex and the City have only fanned the fire of demand for Manolos in America.

The article portrays Blahnik as a self-proclaimed tradtionalist, still designing his coveted heels himself, checking for balance with a compass and a ruler only, in contrast to the digital design software several of his counterparts have adopted. In a story in The Independent by Carola Long, Blahnik’s niece reveals that in the factory her uncle often tells giddy, imaginary stories about the women who will wear each of his shoes and the escapades they will have in them. His niece notes how his artistic mind constantly jumps all over history, cinema, art, and ideas and asks him if he ever thinks in a straight line. He replies, “Straight line, what is a straight line? I don't like them.”

He may draw inspiration from all over, but he has been wise to stick to designing shoes only as opposed to branching out to other areas and spreading himself and his team too thin. This narrow focus, enveloping creativity, and attention to the female body are surely responsible for his success.