King Of Sole

Before ‘It’ shoes and extreme heels, there was MANOLO BLAHNIK. Now, the man who turned footwear into lust items is starring in his very own documentary (along with A-list fans such as RIHANNA and ANNA WINTOUR). One of fashion’s biggest characters tells us where it all began…

- Jess Wood

I started to create things for myself as a child, because I was bored to tears. On the Canary Islands [where Blahnik was born] after the war, treats were hard to come by. We’d buy everything from catalogues sent from overseas. Start-rite shoes came from Harrods. My grandma ordered them and they’d have to last for two years. Chocolates came from England and, in those days, Cadbury’s had such beautiful silverfoil wrapping, and it inspired me. My dog was my first victim – I started to play around with the foil, wrapping it around his legs. And then I found that the local lizards would let me do it – people thought they were disgusting, but I loved them. I used to feed them a bit of lettuce or tomato and they’d be quite happy while I fiddled around with their feet. My mother was my number-one infl uence. She was very colonial and provincial but loved clothes and had divine shoes. She got them from Madrid and was the envy of all the ladies on the island. She adored simple sandals, and pumps. Maybe that’s why pumps are my favourite shoes. We had limited colours, though – red, black, beige and white. My mother just painted them herself – she’d put buckles and all sorts of decorations and trims on them.

When I was 18, my parents wanted me to be a diplomat and they sent me to work at the UN. I’d spend the day just going from room to room, arranging newspapers. I was so bored. After a while, I literally begged my father: ‘Please, please let me go to art school, graphic school… Anything. Just get me out of here!’