Hot day. Hot city. Hot shoes at the Manolo Blahnik – The Art of Shoes exhibition at Prague’s Museum Kampa.
Even if you don’t follow fashion – or rather, shoe fashion – you probably heard the word, “Manolos” being bandied about. If you’re up on your pop culture, you’ll know that it’s referenced in shows like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl, not to mention Jay-Z singing about them in his ’03 Bonnie + Clyde song with Beyonce.
And even if you don’t own a pair of Manolos (that would be me!), that shouldn’t stop you from checking out this fashionable exhibition on one of the world’s most famous shoe designer. I love that Manolo Blahnik draws his inspiration from art and architecture and in many ways, his work is no different than that of a painter, sculptor or architect.
Not only does Manolo Blahnik designs shoes, but he also makes them too. This glass case shows the process behind making his famous Josefa shoe, an homage to late architect, Zaha Hadid, who was also a personal friend. The Josefa shoe features organic, sculptured shapes – symbolic of Zaha Hadid’s Changsha Meixihu International Culture and Arts Centre building in China.
The shoe was dismantled specially for this exhibition – it’s 80 components (!) arranged alongside Blahnik’s notes and preliminary sketch. Who knew that shoe construction can be so technical!
The museum is divided into 6 sections – one of which is on his creations for Sofia Coppola’s movie, Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst. This happened to be my favourite part of the exhibition.
To be absolutely authentic to the period in the movie, Blahnik studied the surviving 18th century shoes displayed at the V+A Museum in London, as well as, poured over the works of Rococo painters like Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher, Antoine Watteau and Thomas Gainsborough for just the right details. Marie Antoinette was award the Oscar for costume design that year.
Blahnik’s shoes are not for the timid. They are “look at me!” shoes. Even his conservative shoes will make women stand out – with that bold splash of colour, wacky detailing and eccentric styling. And even though some of his shoes are not my flavour, I can certainly appreciate the design thinking and craftsmanship behind making these pieces of art.
Blahnik’s shoes are handcrafted in several small Italian factories. This allows him to personally follow the nuances of production and maintain the high standards and exclusivity his shoes are known for.
Manolo Blahnik has definitely raised shoemaking into an art and that’s why he’s become such a cultural phenomenon.
The touring exhibition runs until November 12. From Prague, The Art of the Shoe will showcase in Madrid and Toronto. View more photos of the Manolo Blahnik – The Art of Shoes exhibit on my Flickr album.
Hours:
Daily: 10am-6pm
Address:
U Sovových Mlýnů 2
118 00 Malá Strana
GPS coordinates: 50.0840345, 14.406288
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