A lot of women around the world felt a pang of jealousy when Hollywood actor Kirsten Dunst got to wear the footwear designed by the shoe wizard Manolo Blahnik for her role in Marie Antoniette.
Looking at the shoes in the film, one can very well imagine Blahnik to be popular with the royalties if he was born in France in late 1700s. While some of the most important (and influential) feet have adorned his shoes, he himself was once spotted in a shoe-shaped fascinator. The 74-year-old is no less than an urban legend of our times.
So, when his creations—including the one that he created for the period film—was on display at an art exhibition at the Palazzo Morando in Milan, it was enough to create a hysteria of sorts. The retrospective exhibition titled Manolo Blahnik–the Art of Shoes was curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, who worked on the project for two years, selecting 212 shoes from 30,000-odd styles.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, Blahnik also created navy slippers in velvet and satin for Four Seasons, Milan, a hotel close to his heart. Embellished with gold embroidery, the slippers were gifted to select guests, who also got a chance to visit the exhibition, a stone’s throw from the hotel. Lucky Dunst, luckier guests.