Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik started sketching on the beach at his home in the Canary Islands at the age of 7. Now, some years later, his internationally renowned shoe designs are worn and collected by the world's best-dressed women - Madonna, Paloma Picasso, Bianca Jagger, Diane von Furstenberg, and Sigourney Weaver - to name just a few.

Manolo was born on November 28, 1943 in the Canary Islands to a Czechoslovakian father and Spanish mother. As a child he traveled with his parents to Paris and Madrid for his mother's clothes. Manalo became fascinated by Dior, Balenciaga, and Spain's famous cobbler, Rius. He went to the University of Geneva and studied literature and architecture, then to L'Ecole de Louvre to study art.

In 1971, he came to New York with a portfolio and set designs. China Machado and the legendary Diana Vreeland saw and were amused by his sketches. Mrs. Vreeland, while looking at one particularly whimsical sketch pointed out a crazy shoe that crept up the ankle and was entwined with ivy and cherries. She lifted her arms into the air, ivory bracelets dangling up her arms and said, "You should do shoes." And so he did.

In 1973, he opened his shop in London's Chelsea, where he's been creating fanciful designs ever since. He opened a boutique in New York in 1983 and sells throughout the United States, as well as in Hong Kong, Brazil, Germany, and elsewhere.

Manalo is one of the few designers in the world who can see a shoe through from idea to sketch, cutting, mounting, stitching and a finished design.

Manalo Blahnik has been the recipient of many design awards, but he is the most proud of the three presented to him from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for outstanding excellence in accessory design.