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Manolo Blahnik
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manolo Blahnik CBE (born November 27, 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and an eponymous fashion label, one of the world's most prominent in women's shoes.
Born in Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canary Islands to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and raised on a banana plantation, Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva with a degree in literature in 1965 and went on to study art in Paris. He moved to London in 1970 and opened his first shop in 1973 by buying out an existing shop called Zapata in Chelsea.
His shoes, sold around the world, range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars. They often come with stiletto heels, which can reach as high as five and a half inches, and embellishments with beads, laces, or ribbons. The television show Sex and the City mentioned his shoes so often that it helped cement his place in pop culture, and he was said to be the "fifth star" of the show after the show's four lead actresses. Blahnik also designed the shoes worn by the title character in the 2006 biopic Marie Antoinette.
He was awarded an honorary title of Commander of the British Empire in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, for services to the British fashion industry.
There are two Blahnik boutiques in the United States, in New York, New York, and Las Vegas, Nevada.