Fashion Obsession: Manolo Blahnik’s homage to Cristóbal Balenciaga’s bows

Manolo Blahnik is one shoe designer who has earned a permanent place in pop culture. Till today, his creations remain some of the most covetable in the shoe hall of fame—in huge part thanks to Sex and the City’s stamp of approval. Blahnik has long been known for his myriad of references (even managing to fill an entire exhibition in London’s labyrinthian Wallace Collection), and one fellow Spanish design legend that has inspired his craft was none other than Cristóbal Balenciaga.

Master of sculptural tailoring and masterful silhouettes, Balenciaga’s influence on fashion resounds even today. Case in point: Blahnik has found inspiration in a recurrent motif found in Balenciaga’s designs in the 1950s: the bow. In Balenciaga’s work, they are fabric sculptures; in Blahnik’s, they are a nod to the coquettish charm of the adornment, featuring as dainty ribbons. Blahnik borrows the bow’s links to haute couture, combining them with a distinctly 1950s florals-on-black print.

This reference to Balenciaga is but one of many Blahnik’s inspirations this autumn/winter 2020, as he cites the works of other renowned artists, from Paul Poiret to Eileen Gray. From the most understated black loafer to a statement strappy sure to steal the heart of Carrie Bradshaw, Blahnik’s heels remain articles of fashion history.