Altough Manolo Blahnik‘s conquest of America is fairly recent, he’s been a hit in London since 1972, when Bianca Jagger, Loulou de La Falaise, and Marisa Berenson started wearing his outrageously original high-heeled platforms and sandals with green suede straps that climbed the legs like vines (they were festoned with red cherries at the top).
Manolo landed in London in 1969, where his real life began. “I was possessed by London. It was post-Beatles and all that nonsense, and to me the city seemed very exotic”.
Ossie. First created in 1971, this countryside inspired sandal dedicated to the English designer Ossie Clark, was embellished with long green straps with red rounds, representing berries and leaves. Last year the Spanish shoemaker re-released 60 limited edition pairs of this famous shoe
The rubber heeled and suede cherries was inspired by Manolo’s favorite fruit. Photo courtesy of Traffic Magazine.
The Genealogy of Style 