Well-shod entrepreneur looks to new markets

Part Czech and part Spanish, Blahnik is in town for the official opening of the store, one of only a dozen boutiques for this footwear genius, who, at the age of 65, has turned down repeated offers to buy his company. He still personally designs each shoe, creating every prototype by hand before sending some 80 designs into production each season. These retail from some 200 points of sale around the world – but are all handmade in five factories in Italy by a staff of 600 people.

Blahnik, who has been designing shoes since the seventies, expanded into men’s shoes last year, but unlike other luxury brands, he has consistently refused to diversify further, for instance into such product categories as handbags or jewellery.

On the other hand, perhaps he does not need to. In the UAE alone, since the brand was launched in the UAE in 2007, sales have grown between 30 and 40 per cent per year, the financial crisis notwithstanding. With two stores in Dubai, franchisees Times Square LLC are now studying the feasibility of another in Abu Dhabi.

Sitting down with Emirates Business at his Saks Fifth Avenue store in Dubai, the energetic designer talked of new markets and new lines, between holding forth on romance, design and insomnia in his trademark colourful language.

Your lines have been retailing in the UAE for over two years; what have customer reactions been like?

From my experience on this visit, it has been beyond my expectations. Women really adore shoes here. And men, too. We had one man come in and buy four pairs of the same style for his four wives and he wanted me to sign them all.

How many shoes do you put out every year, then?

Ahh! Ask my agent, because I do not have a clue. A lot. But even in this time, people are very conscious, in America, we sell, we sell, we sell, and now in the Emirates, too, even in the recession. Things went down in America a bit, but picked up about a month ago. We are very, very fortunate, I am fortunate, the factories are fortunate.

And because we have 600 employees, even if this stupid shoe does not perform, I have a responsibility and I really worry about – not me, all the time, as long as I do what I want to do – but we do have a responsibility to those 600 people.

But how have you resisted selling out to a larger company – especially since it would assure stability?

Ah no, no, no, no. I do not want to sell my company to anybody. Because I am not into money, I have never been into money. As as long as I have my houses, my staff, the people that work with me, I do not need more. Come on.

Tell us about your men’s shoes, you launched a new line last year?

It is very reduced, only about six or seven styles. We do not do more because men are very difficult to please, they say, ‘this colour is too much’. They need their wives to tell them to buy something. But in terms of style, it is mostly sandals, I love sandals.

Those will do very well in this market.

Yes, I think so. Like one gentleman this morning, who came in and said, ‘I buy any colour you want it in sandals, I want it, I want it’.

What is it with Czechs and shoes, then?

You know they started Bata, too. I think there must be some sort of genetic problem there. My problem, at least... my father could not care about shoes. My mum adored shoes. And she used to do her own shoes sometimes, because during the war you had no shoes at all. I remember as a child, how she showed me her tools, the soles, the chiffons coming through to the dress…

That was the start of your love affair with shoes?

I guess so, unconsciously – you know. I always liked shoes and statues’ feet in the museum. My favourite part on anybody’s anatomy is the (pause) foot. Even the most horrendous feet have redeeming qualities, the way you move them, they move in beautiful ways, it is very strange. And no, I am not a fetishist at all.

But a lot of your shoes are objects of fantasy for women who buy them, for the men who buy them for the women. What is the power of a fine pair of shoes?

I do not know what is the power. I think its because women put them on and they change their posture. And in the husband’s mind, there must be something: excitement, desire, whatever. This is what I think.

What other countries do you want to retail in around the Middle East?

I have the crazy idea of going to – I love – Beirut. I love Jordan. But this is up to my licence people. We are already in two other markets in the region, in Bahrain and in Kuwait, where we have a franchise with Villa Moda.

Is that on the cards sometime soon?

No, it is in the mind – perhaps in time. Also, we have to produce enough, and maybe we can get there in time. We have small factories, and we have to take care of the quality, ensure it is all beautifully done. If in the future it is convenient and they like it and it is viable, we will do business in those countries because I love them.

How about other markets? You were going into India with Reliance?

India, I do not mind tomorrow. You see, we have a wonderful idea for Mumbai. But then, it is got to do with the licensee and the timing, so it is on standby right now as we finish negotiations and everything. And also we are doing Beijing and Shanghai, but please, we need time, so that may happen in 2012 and 2014, because we are a small operation.

What about luxury on the internet? How has the internet changed buying patterns? Are more people buying online?

We do sell over the internet, but it has not affected business hugely, except in America, where Neiman Marcus does a huge bulk of our online business. In Europe, people are tactile, they want to touch the shoe. Here, too, there is not much in terms of online sales. In America, it is, ‘aah, do you have that shoe? In that colour’ And they buy 10 pairs on the internet.

And what do you wear?

My own shoes today are just flat matador pumps. I design them myself and we have already had customers in Dubai ask for them.

Let us talk  about technology. You use it a lot  more now, such as the heel-less shoe, based on an S-spring?

Yes, now I am starting to use technology. But eventually, I want to use technology to create a single piece from a mould, with the top and the heel and everything. I did once a flat jelly shoe in Taiwan… it was heaven, I sold like millions. This is what I think the future could be – particularly so in China, where it could be possible.

Manolo Blahnik embracing the mass market, is that possible?

It will eventually be mass market. But I do not want to do that yet, unless someone asks me to do a special shoe for Adidas, I would love to try, like Zaha Hadid’s shoe for Lacoste.

What would you say your legacy is?

I do not think at all about legacy. I guess I have done something which entertained women and the entertainment is key for me, making women happy is key.

The man

Born in November 1942 to a Czech father and a Spanish mother on the Canary Islands, fashion Blahnik began designing shoes after a meeting with legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. When he showed the fashion legend his set design ideas, she spotted his talent for accessories and told him to concentrate on his “amusing” footwear.

In the seventies, after launching a line of shoes for British designer Ossie Clark, he took a loan of £2,000 (Dh 12,247.61) and bought out Zapata, the London boutique he retailed from.

Today, his shoes, which begin around the $300 mark, retail from a dozen standalone boutiques and more than 200 points of sale. Over the years he has designed collections for Calvin Klein, John Galliano and Isaac Mizrahi. 

In keeping with haute couture tradition, Blahnik designs each shoe himself, first on paper and then personally creating each prototype by hand.

The impact

Celebrity fashion journalist Suzy Menkes tells how she was mugged for her shoes in New York’s subway one year. As she reached the exit, she found the mugger had left the shoes behind, apparently having decided they were not worth reselling.

While Menkes has never said what brand they were, they were not Manolo Blahniks. In one seminal episode of Sex and the City, lead character Carrie Bradshaw is also mugged in New York. “Please sir,” she pleaded. “You can take my Fendi baguette, you can take my ring and my watch, but don’t take my Manolo Blahniks.” Of course, the mugger did just that.

Blahnik was a handful of designers who benefitted from the show and whose name has now become synonymous with his product.

Other references to Blahnik’s work in popular culture include the sitcom Will and Grace, and songs by Beyoncé, Lady GaGa and Weird Al Yankovic.

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