Manolo Blahnik Unveils “The Art of Shoes” in Milan

Milan was the first stop (of course!) of the touring exhibition – The Art of Shoes – which celebrates Spanish designer, Manolo Blahnik’s career of 46 years as the fashion world’s most celebrated footwear designer. The exhibition, curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, showcased 212 shoes — selected among more than 30,000 styles — and 80 sketches in the beautiful, 18th-century location of Palazzo Morando, Milan.

According to the designer, inspiration is something he’s never out of, which is also one of the reasons why he will never follow trends either. “I leave to the others to do that, I only do what I like, I’m a little bit selfish,” he said.

The exhibition was an assortment of Blahnik’s many moods and ideas from romantic florals, avant-garde surrealist structures to vintage charm.

The next leg of the touring exhibition includes the State Museum Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he often looks for inspiration; the Museum Kampa in Prague, Czech Republic, which is the paternal home of his family and the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas in Madrid, to honor the designer’s Spanish roots. As its final stop, the show will be held at the BATA shoe museum in Toronto in 2018.

Scroll through the gallery below for some inspiring moments from the exhibit.

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