Looking For A Pair Of Manolos? Start With The Silhouettes Collection

5 days ago

Get to know the label's signature styles

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With his easily-recognisable silhouettes and luxurious, hand-crafted creations, Manolo Blahnik is a master of timeless footwear. The brand’s hand-crafted shoes offer a masterclass in lasting design, with each pair crafted to be worn decade after decade, generation after generation. And now, the brand’s defining styles are stepping into the spotlight.

Meet The Manolo Blahnik Silhouettes Collection

Of all the defining shoe designers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Manolo Blahnik stands a head above for his attention to detail and exacting craftsmanship. For over 50 years, the designer has been carefully crafting shoes – fondly knowns as Manolos – for celebrities, socialites and the everyday modern woman.

Over the years, Blahnik has drawn on a whole host of references – many being the aforementioned women he was creating for – to create his now label-defining styles. And these classic styles are now the subject of the brand’s latest edit, Manolo’s Silhouettes.

About The Collection (& Its Historical Highlights)

Comprised six women’s styles, the collection illustrates Manolo Blahnik’s flair for designs with enduring timelessness, intentional simplicity and faultless silhouettes. And while fans of the label can already guess which silhouettes made the cut, they’ll be intrigued to find out just how each style came to be…

CAROLYNE

The collection begins with a house signature, the CAROLYNE. ‘It’s a comfortable shoe, a shoe that has no time, it is what I call an eternal shoe,’ says Manolo Blahnik. ‘No matter what you do it will always look modern – there is every possible material, every possible colour, every possible heel height.’ The slingback was originally created for the designer, author and artist Carolyne Roehm for SS90, notes Blahnik. ‘She is a very elegant woman and an exquisite customer who intrigued me into designing a shoe that would remain timeless, like her.’ The shoe went on to become a brand favourite, made popular once more by the likes of Carolyn Bassette-Kennedy, Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence.

MAYSALE

Manolo Blahnik has mastered the mule in many forms over the years, but his most beloved has to be the MAYSALE. Created in 1991 for fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, the mule is one of Blahnik’s most popular creations – famed for its classy, pared-down look.

MARY JANE

There isn’t one shoe designer who hasn’t taken on a Mary Jane in their career – and Manolo Blahnik has certainly had his fair share of success with his rendition. ‘The classic Mary Jane was inspired by a desire to move on from grandeur and excess and create something more restrained,’ notes the designer. ‘I had gone through a bit of a Baroque period in the early ‘90s and wanted something to counter that, so I went minimalist.’ First introduced as part of his AW94 collection, the shoe has found huge fans in Kate Moss, Dua Lipa, Julianne Moore and, on screen, Carrie Bradshaw.

CHAOS

And then there’s the red carpet hero, CHAOS. This sandal marked Manolo Blahnik’s return to simplicity, with a barely-there silhouette developed from the designer’s ‘fascination with lightness, both in a structural and a tactile sense.’ In the years since its release in Blahnik’s SS13 collection, CHAOS has become a celebrity favourite – worn by the likes of Rihanna, Karlie Kloss and Ashley Graham – and praised by stylists for its leg-lengthening effect.

SUSA

For minimal style with a clean silhouette, look no further than SUSA. The sandal was first created for Bergdorf Goodman, making its debut in Manolo Blahnik’s AW10 collection before entering the main collection in 2012. And these days, you’ll see SUSA reimagined in a spectrum of colours, as well as new silhouettes with a low heel.

BB

And last – but certainly not least – there’s the brand’s most famous pump, the BB. This is the shoe that most people think of when they hear the name Manolo Blahnik. And for good reason. ‘I first designed the BB, which is named after Brigitte Bardot, one of my greatest inspirations, in 2008 and it became a classic,’ says the designer. The sleek court shoe references the 50s and 60s styles that shaped the era, and has been brought to life in a myriad of materials since its launch. With a huge A-list fanbase spanning Nicole Kiman, Margot Robbie, Adwoa Aboah and Kate Middleton, this is the epitome of a staple heel.