An Enquiring Mind: 100 pieces from Manolo Blahnik’s personal archives x The Wallace Collection

Step over and explore over 100 pieces from Manolo Blahnik’s personal archives alongside the Wallace Collection’s unrivaled 18th-century collections. The masterpieces from Manolo Blahnik’s private archive take you on a journey of enquiry through the Wallace Collection’s great works.

‘An Enquiring Mind Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection’ places a personally selected edit of shoes from Manolo’s personal archive amongst the masterpieces of the Wallace Collection.

This London based exhibition juxtaposes Manolo, a living artist, and icon from the world of shoe design, with the Wallace’s outstanding collection, which has been an inspiration to artists since it opened to the public in 1900.

Co-curated by Wallace Collection Director, Dr Xavier Bray, and Manolo himself, the partnership celebrates the renowned designer’s long-held fascination with the Wallace Collection, providing an unprecedented exploration of his creative process. The venture places a curated edit of shoes from Manolo’s archives in the intimate context of the Wallace Collection alongside the paintings, sculpture and furniture that inspired his enquiring mind – leading to a dialogue between the old and the new, the art and the craft, the real and the fantasy.

The crazy sexy shoes never go out of fashion and represent an expression of sexual empowerment or a passive source of pleasure. Like feet, shoes can be objects of fetishism. High Japanese geta, extreme heels and tight-laced leather boots were on display at V&A’s “Shoes: Pleasure and Pain?” exhibition as well as examples of erotic styles channeled by mainstream fashion in recent years. Ever wondered why fashion items with the seduction factor and companies like Loveplugs hit more sales than the usual fashion designs? That’s because sex is the greatest salesman of all.

The fashion brand invited its fans to join the fashion house for the Manolo Blahnik talk series at the Wallace Collection. “We will be exploring themes including ‘Goya and Shoes,’ ‘The Classical Influence,’ ‘Fashion or Art?,’ ‘Fashion and Power,’ ‘The Collector’ and ‘The Interior World,” announced Manolo Blahnik fashion house. Speakers include Manolo Blahnik, Kristina Blahnik, Dame Mary Beard, Manuela Mena Marques, Grace Wales-Bonner, Alex Fury, Lou Stoppard, Stephen Jones, and Tony Chambers.

The luxury footwear label has also opened a shop-in-shop in London’s Selfridges.

Previously located on Selfridges’ fashion floor, the new shop-in-shop in London is inspired by the French designer Jean-Michel Frank. the interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry.. Manolo first saw one of Jean-Michel Frank’s interiors as a young man and instantly decided that it was one of the most beautiful rooms he had ever seen.

The mindset for the new boutique stemmed from the idea of a chic living room. To develop this sentiment, Manolo collaborated with the company’s architect where together they worked on the notion of crafted minimalism, inspired by Jean-Michel Frank’s work.

The boutique features simple forms in the most exquisite materials. Pops of colour convey Manolo’s creative flair with block colour chairs and shelving.