Rude and nude yet executed with as much refinement as a
queen’s coronation slipper. The transforming powers of Blahnik’s shoes have
become legendary. They are said to lengthen the leg from the hip all the way to
the toe cleavage.
Born
in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands in Spain he left to study literature at the
University of Geneva and art at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. During a trip to
New York in 1973, an appointment with famous Vogue editor Diana Vreeland
inspired him to settle in London. He went on to open his flagship store in London’s
Chelsea and boutiques in the United States and Asia. Blahnik’s influential shoe
designs continue to be a sole choice for many fashion designers’ catwalk
collections.
The
shoe designer has teamed up with eco designer Marcia Patmos and came up with
some eco shoe designs made from tilapia fish skin, cork and raffia from palm
trees which are all considered sustainable. The collection includes a
double-strap flat and a sophisticated open-toed pump which will be available in
a combination of electric blue, black, ecru, and fluorescent yellow. Despite
making eco-friendly shoes Manolo Blahnik will not be making a compromise on the
price tag, each masterpiece will retail at $895 (around £600) at Manolo Blahnik
stores exclusively in the US. Depending on how you look at it, this could be a
great way to be sustainable. If I spend my $895 on a pair of Manolos I would buy
less and wear more of the shoe therefore being sustainable. Although tilapia
hails from Africa, the fish is one of the world’s worst invasive species and
the most popular farmed fish in the United States, which means that Patmos and
Blahnik have plenty of material to work with.
“I
am always researching sustainable materials and developments. I love the idea
of tilapia skin because it is a by-product of the food industry that would
otherwise be discarded, but it’s actually a beautiful material perfect for
small leather goods,” Patmos said of her decision to incorporate the material
into her offerings with the shoe designer. “I love bringing the idea of
sustainability into the luxury market — it doesn’t have to be limited to
T-shirts and grocery bags.” Two designs of the eco-friendly shoe where used by
Marcia Patmos for her Spring Summer 2012 collection. Here are some pictures
from the collection.
What
do you think of the eco-friendly Manolos? Thankfully they don’t have the raw
smell of Tilapia.
Visit the official Manolo Blahnik site here
Visit the official Marcia Patmos site here
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