Manolo Blahnik

Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, ( /məˈnoʊloʊ ˈblɑːnɪk/; born 28 November 1942), is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand. Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands (Spain), Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris. He moved to London in 1968 to work at fashion boutique "Zapata" and write for Vogue Italia. After showing his portfolio of fashions and set designs to Diana Vreeland, she told him that he should design only footwear. In 1972, Ossie Clark invited him to create shoes for his runway show. With a loan of £2,000, Blahnik bought Zapata from its owner and opened his own boutique. In the 1970s, when...