Balenciaga and Manolo Blahnik’s New Collab Is Already an It-Shoe Contender

2 min read

Few fashion quotes have endured quite like Carrie Bradshaw’s infamous line, “Please don’t take my Manolos”—particularly now. Today, the shoe giant teamed up with Balenciaga on a first-of-its-kind collaboration, and it’s sure to become a collector’s obsession. Not to mention, a fitting addition to Bradshaw’s closet if Sex and the City should ever return, too.

As two luminary Spanish brands, the partnership is a natural one. First unveiled at creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli’s “Body and Being” collection, the line consists of three elegant silhouettes—two heeled mules and a sling-back—that infuse the signatures of each house with archival elements to match. For Piccioli, the reasoning behind the creative exchange was relatively straightforward. “I simply like Manolo,” the designer said in a statement. “That’s it.”

The designs are undoubtedly refined, with décolleté silhouettes that reveal the skin. Piccioli chose them from archival Manolo Blahnik shapes and reimagined them in silk satin lined with a leather interior—a marriage of both houses’ artisanal craftsmanship. Infused by Piccioli’s hallmark approach to color, the shapes come in a rainbow of hues—from violet and lime to gray plume and grass, all emblazoned with bejeweled elements at the vamp inspired by Balenciaga jewelry from the 1960s.

“This collaboration came to life for very personal reasons,” Piccioli continued. “I know [Manolo] personally and have admired him for a long time. To me, Manolo Blahnik is synonymous with elegance and as he’s Spanish, like Cristóbal Balenciaga—there’s a certain shared sensibility there.”

Balenciaga | Manolo Blahnik is available now on balenciaga.com and in select Balenciaga stores worldwide.