Shoe designer Manolo Blahnik
Witness History
BBC
4.4 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2022
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How a young designer from the Canary Islands became one of the most famous shoe-makers in the world. Manolo Blahnik was studying art and set design in Paris when in 1969 he was introduced to the editor of American Vogue, who said he should concentrate on shoes. He got his first break in fashion three years later, and so began a 50 year career that has seen his name become synonymous with what have been described as the sexiest shoes in the world. In 2012, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Manolo Blahnik about his life and work.
Picture: Manolo Blahnik at the opening of a new boutique in Dublin (credit: PA)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Now here on the BBC World Service witness history with me Louis Adalgo. |
| 0:46.0 | And it's 50 years since a man whose name has become synonymous with some of the most |
| 0:51.0 | sought after shoes in the world got his first break in fashion. |
| 0:55.0 | In 2012, I spoke to Manolo Blarnick about his life and work. |
| 1:00.0 | It's London, 1972. |
| 1:04.0 | And the city that brought the world the mini skirt and the rolling stones is still the swinging |
| 1:09.6 | capital of fashion and pop culture. One of the most influential clothes designers of the time, |
| 1:20.0 | the flamboyant Ozzy Clark, |
| 1:22.0 | is putting the finishing touches to his latest fashion show. |
| 1:25.0 | But something's missing. In a panic his assistant telephones a friend. |
| 1:30.0 | Please can he help? |
| 1:32.0 | She was a peer of Ozzy Clark. |
| 1:34.0 | And she said to me, |
| 1:35.0 | Do you realize we're going to have a show next week |
| 1:38.0 | in the Royal Court Theatre? |
| 1:40.0 | And we don't have any shoes at all. |
... |
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