An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection.
Something is happening at the Wallace Collection. Something you can't miss. One of the most famous womens shoe designers, who goes by the name - Manolo Blahnik has chosen the exquisite venue to showcase his archive collection.
With more than 800 years of history behind it, this museum is an example of sophisticated art and collects precious objects from around the world from the 15th to 19th centuries, which includes paintings, supplies, arms and armour, porcelain and old master paintings spread into 30 galleries/rooms; and Blahnik who has always been fascinated by art and literature could not have chosen a better location within the heart of London.
London, where he moved to in the 70's to crown his great dream of becoming a shoe designer and where the most important pieces of the Blahnik archive have been selected for the exhibition, which shows precisely the refinement of certain themes as a source of inspiration and the study for art, so much so that the scarps exhibited in the exhibition blend so well with the surrounding context to show pure examples of art objects.
From the Hall to the Boudoir Cabinet, a map of pink hues trace the path to the rooms where the shoes are found - akin to a treasure hunt. As one arrives - the surprise and ecstasy in front of such great beauty repays the wait. Each creation is associated with a painting, an art object or a piece of furniture to which Blahnik was inspired during the creative process.
An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection.
Everything goes from designer to final production through the supervision of the designer. Thus we can admire for example in one of the many rooms a painting by Greuze, which offers the ideal setting for the clean stiletto line, in black and grey. And what about the Study room's: between Neoclassicism and Spanish style of its furnishings, Manolo's creation offers a stiletto that flaunts all the avant-garde fashion inherent in the designer.
An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection.
There are 10 galleries at the Wallace Collection where you can admire the creation of the master Blahnik; the opulence of shapes, the clever play of colours and juxtapositions of fabrics and styles make the designs the distinctive feature of the Spanish designer who has always played between the past and the present since the beginning of his career, to design creations of pure avant-garde style.
MORE ABOUT MANOLO BLAHNIK
Love for the designer shoe brand rose due to its popularity on the famous TV series "Sex in the city" where one of the protagonists “the fancy Carrie” never missed a pair of shoes by Manolo Blahnik for her most important appointments but also in every day life. So vital and indispensable to mention several times during episodes as if they were relatives or people of a certain close familiarity. Even outside the set, actress Sara Jessica Parker wears the creations of the famous designer. Manolo Blahnik has also designed the shoes for Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoniette" where, in a modern key, a French queen is very attentive to fashion and the latest trends in terms of accessories and clothes and then as the best interpreter of a rich and opulent France of master Blahnik?
The exhibition “An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection” will be open until 1st September 2019.
Alessandra Guerrieri studied Communication and Social Media and later specialised in Communication and Fashion Journalism. She has contributed articles to Vogue Italy where her creativity has been expressed through her fashion writing, as she holds a vast knowledge in fashion culture and history.