Description:
The Spanish designer Manolo Blahnik creates the most sought-after shoes in the world. On a supermodel, a Manolo Blahnik shoe completes the perfect ensemble; placed on a pedestal, it becomes a minor art object. Colin McDowell's Manolo Blahnik attempts to capture the genuine excitement generated by Blahnik's creations. It is only partly successful. The breathy writing style never rises above fashion-magazine gossip, though the shoes themselves extend beyond fashion into art and sculpture--even metaphysical meaning. The maestro never puts a foot wrong. The finest materials, gorgeous color, and a sense of the theatrical combine in elegant originals that consistently surprise. We are told that, besides their whimsicality and sexiness, his shoes are extremely comfortable and well made. Blahnik, "sculptor and engineer," carves each wooden last himself, normally from beech, and supervises the Italian workshops that turn his designs into treasures. His originality may be explained by his lack of formal training, but it is also clear that Blahnik's success is founded on hard work, eccentricity, and boundless energy. The book's photographs and the designer's drawings (especially effective) present the shoes as formal objects in settings replete with rose petals and fashion-photographer textures. As a glimpse into the mechanics of the world of high fashion, Manolo Blahnik works well. Readers interested in contemporary culture, celebrities, and the master's thoughts on toe cleavage and other mysteries will rave about it. --John Stevenson
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