Blahnik was born in
Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the
Canary Islands (Spain), to a Czech father and Spanish mother. His father left
Prague in the 1930s to avoid rising fascism; his grandparents disappeared in the 1950s after the Communists took charge. His mother's family owned a banana plantation in the
island city of Santa Cruz de la Palma, where he grew up alongside his sister, Evangelina. He was homeschooled as a child before eventually attending a Swiss boarding school. Later, his parents wanted him to be a diplomat and enrolled him at the
University of Geneva, majoring in politics and law. However, Blahnik changed his majors to literature and architecture. In 1965, he got his degree and moved to Paris to study art at the École des Beaux-Arts and Stage Set Design at the Louvre Art School, all while working at a vintage clothing shop. In 1969, he moved to London to work as a buyer at the fashion boutique Feathers, and wrote for
L’Uomo Vogue, an Italian men's version of
Vogue. In 1969, Blahnik had a chance to meet
Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of
U.S. Vogue, while he was traveling in New York. He then presented his portfolio of fashions and set designs to Vreeland, at which point she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Young man, make things, make accessories, make shoes." She admired his shoe sketches and advised him to concentrate on designing footwear. Blahnik followed her advice and worked on designing shoes. In 1971,
Ossie Clark invited him to create shoes for his runway show. He also designed shoes for other London fashion designers, such as
Jean Muir and
Zandra Rhodes. From 1971, Blahnik was selling Manolo Blahnik shoes for Zapata. With a loan of £2,000, Blahnik bought the Zapata Shoe Company from its owner and opened his own boutique. In 1974, Blahnik became the second man ever to be featured on the cover of
U.K. Vogue (after
Helmut Berger). In 1977, Blahnik created his first American collection. These were sold in 1978 through
Bloomingdales. Blahnik opened his first boutique in the US in 1979. Manolo Blahnik's flagship store remains in
Old Church Street in the
Chelsea district of
London. Blahnik's boutiques are located in London, New York, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona, Moscow, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, and Taipei.
Bloomingdales (for which he created his first American collection),
Nordstrom,
Neiman Marcus,
Barneys,
Bergdorf Goodman and
Saks Fifth Avenue carry his line in the United States and newly opened in
Dubai Mall. The company has signed a long-term deal with the shoewear retailer
Kurt Geiger to operate Manolo Blahnik boutiques. In 2000, Blahnik, together with
Neiman Marcus, launched the first commercial virtual reality online showroom featuring 3D models of his shoes. The entire collection was sold out online within three weeks. Blahnik was elevated to the
International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2007, Blahnik was appointed as an honorary
Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service to the British fashion industry. Blahnik currently resides in
Bath, England, and was awarded an honorary degree from
Bath Spa University in July 2012. ==Early development==