Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, and he appears to be exceedingly happy to see us.

Manolo says, call the Manolo jaded, but the black-leather, fetish-wear novelty of Gareth Pugh has begun to wear thin.

(more…)

Manolo says, all of the Manolo’s friends have been emailing the Manolo with the link to this article in the Sun, which expresses outrage about the childishly colorful and futuristic Balenciaga sandal.

THE season’s fashion must-have is a £700 shoe that would be more at home in a toy shop.

The Sportiletto, from a top designer, is a Lego-like high-heel.

The footwear is said to be influenced by snowboarders, but the real inspiration for the crazy child-like design seems to have come from 1980s kiddie favourite the Fisher-Price 1-2-3 Rollerskate.

[…]

Models on the catwalk look bizarre as they wear thick grey tights and jodhpurs to model the Sportiletto. The shoes are designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere for fashion house Balenciaga. Unbelievably, there are already orders waiting at top London stores.

To those who follow the fashion blogs this is the old news, indeed many of the Manolo’s internet friends were reacting as early as March to the appearance of these sheos on the catwalk. Of the course, back then they were still priced at the exorbitant $4175, not the more reasonable £700.

As for the Manolo’s opinion, which has been repeatedly solicited, the Manolo must say that he finds them amusing, in the sort of fun and silly way, and thinks that they could worn to good advantage by the right super fantastic girl.

Certainly, they are not for everyone, and the girl who wears them would have to be young and sporty, as they would look ridiculous on the more mature person.

Also, the Manolo has to say that he much prefers this colorful version of the shoe to the others produced by Balenciaga in the same Fall ‘07 collection.

And even this black sandal shown above (next to it’s possible design inspiration) is preferable to the bootie version below.

This, the Manolo does not like.

Yes, this is the unusual shoe, however the Manolo does not reject it out of hand as he thinks it is the worthy experiment, one that is not the complete failure.

Manolo says, here are the few links which may perhaps amuse…

Last night I bolted out of the L.A.M.B show, nearly knocking over the publicist Paul Wilmot. Sorry, Paul. If ever there was a reason for a pop star to concentrate on her vocal skills, it was Gwen Stefani’s fashion meltdown. Among the words I wrote in my notebook, until my pen came to a stop, were “blob,” “very last season,” “bad secretary,” “astonishingly bad,” and “Ditzville.” I’m amazed—now—I had that much to say.

Cuisine marks culture more distinctly than any other lifestyle choice. It’s the most conservative cultural trait. (Japanese-American families keep umeboshi in the fridge no matter what fashions they wear, music they listen to, or ideologies they favor.)

“Oscar thinks they are tacky and is only interested in the women who actually support his work and, you know, buy the clothes.”

Manolo says, Nooooooo!

Macy is also experimenting with other channels of expression. The singer has created a fashion line due out in fall.

“It’s called Humps. It’s actually for voluptuous, curvaceous girls, girls with thighs and hips. Especially here in LA, it’s hard to find clothes that do big sizes. We created this line so that these billions of women can have great clothes that fit them and that are still affordable, too.”

The line reflects her multi-hued personality. “It’s real, real colorful and graphic-driven - everyday streetwear, really comfortable, casual great stuff.” So where does she go shopping? “I like H&M! They’re my favorite. I’m not a big designer person. I like simple, classic shit like Calvin Klein and DKNY. I love DKNY. I know there are a lot of new designers, but I’m not really into them.”

And with this news, the final circle of Celebrity Fashion Hell has opened, releasing unspeakable atrocities into the world.

P.S. Thanks to the Manolo’s internet friend the Catwalk Queen.

Manolo says, here is the most depressing story of the week.

Clearly a little run-in with the law isn’t slowing down the Paris Hilton licensing machine. As if sportswear, watches, handbags and fragrances weren’t enough, Hilton now is launching an eponymous line of high-end footwear. “My goal is to create a stylish and fun fashion line from head to toe,” said Hilton in a statement from Antebi Group, a footwear manufacturing company based in New York, which is producing the shoes. “Antebi Group really understand my vision for this line as well as the needs for the fashion-forward young woman.” Platforms, stilettos, wedges and other signature Hilton styles will hit stores early next year.

Once again, the Manolo deplores the whole business of the celebrity “designers”.

Manolo says, remember this picture, which the Manolo was unable to authenticate?

The mystery is solved!

It was me! I am the designer of these high heeled flippers! I made them for my catwalk show for Mercedes Australian Fashion week 2002 at Bondi Iceberbs. This model opened the show and played the part of Ursula Andres walking (with not alot of grace) from sea. What a laugh! I just had a stockist of mine email me a photo of some high heeled flippers so i blogged and found this. You made my day, thanks!

The “Me” behind this charming note is the Australian designer Lisa Carney.

Manolo says, after viewing the post about the High Tide Heels, one of the Manolo’s very perceptive internet friends, the Elle, has left the comment noting that Jean Paul Gaultier had sent the high-heeled flippers down the runway in his Spring 2007 Ready-To-Wear.

Naturally, the Manolo had to find these shoes and show them to his friends,

And so, voila!

Although the Manolo remembers this Gualtier show very well, he admits to having completely missed these amusing flipper-shoes.

And for the next example of the high tide heels, it is also the smartie Elle who has provided the Manolo with the link to this photo below.

Once again, there is no indication of the provenance of this picture, other than that it appeared in the webpages of the Sydney Morning Herald. If any of the Manolo’s sharp eyed friends known from whence it comes, please tell.

UPDATE: The designer of the High Tide Heels has been identified!

Manolo shouts, Olé!

Is the Manolo the only person in the fashion press to recognize that Galliano’s Spanish theme for the 60th anniversary of the House of Dior is partly the homage to Manolete, the greatest torero who ever lived, and whose sensational death in the bull ring occurred in August of 1947, at exactly the moment Christain Dior was beginning his business?

It is not as if Manolete is competely unknown, they are making the movie about his life, with Adrian Brody in the title role.

It is perhaps the less well known fact that the Manolo, himself, was named after Manolete.