Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes

The Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto presents a retrospective by one of the world’s most influential figures within the fashion industry, Spanish artist Manolo Blahnik.

For over 45 years, Blahnik’s inventiveness and artisanship has crossed boundaries between fashion and art, inspiring elegance and perfection. The underlying theme of the exhibition –that shoes are art– aligns with Blahnik’s own approach to creating footwear. The museum will be the first venue in North American to showcase this travelling exhibition that comes from an international tour: Milan, Saint Petersburg, Prague and Madrid.

The exhibition provides an insight into Blahnik’s private archive, showcasing over 200 of his favorite shoes beginning in the early 1970s, accompanied with exclusive footage of him at work and his artistic drawings and sketches.

For Blahnik, the most important thing when it comes to creating a shoe is the construction, its design and the fusion of the materials. The Manolos, as their shoes are popularly called, are “beyond fashion”, they have their own personality that transcends mere functionality to approach, in many cases, art. That’s why they are more than accessories and have come to museums.

—El País

With each style [Manolo] tries to capture what he considers to be the essence of elegance, femininity and beauty, which he has interwined with his various cultural and emotional influences, says guest curator Dr. Cristina Carillo de lbornoz.

—Fashion Magazine

Related event: In conversation with Manolo Balhnik

• On Wednesday, May 16 at 6pm.
• Tickets: VIP, $150; General public, $50; Friends of the BSM: $35.

Blahnik shares his thoughts on what truly inspires him, his views on the fashion industry today, and his travelling exhibition Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes. He is joined by the exhibition’s curator, Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, and the evening is moderated by BSM Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack.

Watch the video presentation.