KKKIIILLLLLLEEERRR H E E L S H E E L S HEELS
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C H R I S T I A N L O U B O U T I N
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J I M M Y C H O O 018 M A N O L O B L A H N I K 0 3 0 VA L E N T I N O 0 4 2 Y V E S S A I N T L A U R E N T
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CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN 004
O N E A F T E R N O O N I N E A R LY M A R C H , T H E S H O E DESIGNER CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN DECIDED TO G O F O R A R I D E O N H I S V E S PA .
He had just had lunch at a
of them was pushing a wheelchair. Her
brasserie near his office. The bike, a
passenger had a blanket over her lap and,
navy-blue model, was parked by the curb.
on her feet, a pair of golden shoes that,
Louboutin put on a helmet. He pushed
glinting in the sunlight, looked as though
the visor up and mounted the machine. I
they were encrusted with coins. The scene,
got on behind him. We accelerated tipsily
Louboutin said, was “something out of
and zoomed off into Paris traffic, dodging
Bueuel.� A similar thing had happened once
bollards and side mirrors. Louboutin opened
before, when a disabled woman showed up
up the throttle on Rue de Rivoli. The day
at a signing session Louboutin autographs
was bright and cold. My eyes were tearing.
shoes, as an author does books.
There was a carrousel, a stripy blur.
Somewhere in the Second
Arrondissement, a traffic light turned red. Louboutin idled at the intersection. Two women came around a corner, unwitting participants in a street-corner defile. One
FA B R I C S A R E C A R E F U L LY S E L E C T E D F O R E AC H S H O E A N D M O L D E D TO F I T E AC H S O L E .
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A
A worldwide traveler, Christian
Louboutin is often times inspired
by the different continents he visits:
he has a strong fascination for the
E AC H S O L E S I S P R E SS E D BY H A N D
Orient, and a taste for different materials and objects from all around the world that he collects during his travels. He is also equally
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inspired by the arts, landscapes and cinema.
He had just had lunch at a brasserie
near his office. The bike, a navy-blue model, was parked by the curb. Louboutin put on a helmet. He pushed the visor up and mounted the machine. I got on behind him. We accelerated tipsily and zoomed off into Paris traffic, dodging bollards and side mirrors. Louboutin opened up the throttle on Rue de Rivoli. The day was bright and cold. My eyes were tearing. There was a carrousel, a stripy blur. Somewhere in the Second Arrondissement, a traffic light turned red. Louboutin idled at the intersection.
Two women came around a corner,
unwitting participants in a street-corner defile. One of them was pushing a wheelchair. Her passenger had a blanket over her lap and, on her feet, a pair of golden shoes that, glinting in the sunlight, looked as though they were encrusted with coins. The scene, Louboutin said, was “something out of Bueuel.” A similar thing had happened once before, when a disabled woman showed up at a signing session Louboutin autographs shoes, as an author does books.
“I thought, If I were in a wheelchair,
I’d like to be in super-high heels,” Louboutin said. “But it’s funny. People have a strong relationship to their body, and it was quite moving, I thought, that this person, who is paralyzed, still cares about what’s correct for her feet.”
In 2008, in a cave in Armenia,
scientists discovered what is thought to be the world’s oldest leather shoe, a fiftyfive-hundred-year-old cowhide moccasin a woman’s size 7 with laces and straw padding. But, somewhere between the Chalcolithic age and the Kardashians, shoes went from abetting to embellishing, and even impeding, the feet as a way of getting from one place to another.
The offices of fashion magazines
often smell like locker rooms, owing to the rows of stale sneakers and ballerina flats
In homage to the Surrealists, Louboutin once
that lurk beneath the desks of carless career
created a pair of pumps with a hydrodynamic shape, a
women.) To Louboutin, shoes are less
bulging eye above the pinkie toe, and tessellating rows of
interesting for their physical properties than
black and gold scales the foot as a fish. He has designed
for their psychological ones. A shoe can
pairs of shoes with heels of mismatched heights. For a
be an icebreaker, or an inkblot. Louboutin
private client, a mine owner, he made a pair of shoes with
said one day, in the course of praising a
ruby soles. (Instead of working under armed protection,
Viennese fetish boot from the nineteenth
as the client wanted him to, Louboutin paved the soles in
century, “A shoe has so much more to offer
zircons and shipped them to Hong Kong, where the decoys
than just to walk.”
were replaced with real gems.)
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JIMMY CHOO
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F O R F I F T E E N Y E A R S , TA M A R A M E L L O N W A S T H E M U S E , FA C E , AND LEGS OF JIMMY CHOO, J I M M Y C H O O ’S A R E N OW E V E N M O R E C U STO M I Z A B L E A N D YO U C A N P U T YOUR INITIALS IN THE BOT TOM.
the luxury shoe company she co-founded in London with her parents’ money in 1996. The stilettos regularly appeared on Sex and the City and quickly became an object of desire; wearing them suggested a life of carefree glamour.
Eventually, she says, Jimmy Choo became a $900
million business. Mellon had an extravagant clothing allowance, and a make-up artist and hair stylist on call, too. She was photographed at store openings and celebrity-filled parties, on the red carpet, on vacation in St. Bart’s, in her closet, in the nude. Her 2000 wedding to Matthew Mellon, an heir to the banking fortune, was photographed for British Vogue.
I
It turns out, though, that for much of this time, Mellon
felt aggrieved. She says she was unappreciated by executives
at the company and exploited by the private equity
investors who funded its expansion. She was betrayed
by those close to her. She had night sweats and panic attacks and was always exhausted. She left Jimmy Choo in 2011 with a reported $135 million and enough resentment to fill a book. It’s called In My Shoes and went on sale Tuesday. “To me the truth is always the best way,” she says.
This autumn, Mellon, who’s 46, is launching
her own line of clothes and shoes. It’s called Tamara Mellon. On an afternoon in late September, she sits amid racks of sleek dresses, skirts and jackets
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in her Manhattan office as her staff prepare for fashion week in Paris. Louis Vuitton suitcases are open on the floor.
Mellon is calm, almost still, and
sits very straight with her hands in her lap. Her hair is pulled back into a
black cashmere turtleneck from
shoes in her collection, are made in the same Italian factories as Jimmy Choo stilettos. She named the boots Sweet Revenge; they will
tight pony tail. She’s wearing a deep blue wool skirt and vest with a
her label. Her black suede boots are thigh-high and, like all of the
sell for $1,995.
Mellon says the idea for her new line had been percolating while she
was at Jimmy Choo: she will introduce new items every month, instead of a new collection every season. Most luxury brands still sell only four collections a year; they’re shown months before they’re in stores. The knockoffs, of course,
arrive much sooner. “I guess you could say this is fast fashion for luxury. That’s where we are. We want new things and we want them in season,” she says. “What she wants to do is hard. But I think it has real potential,” says Howard Davidowitz, the chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investing firm. “In the fashion business, speed is life.”
That her memoir often comes off as the rant someone might write to an ex-boyfriend
or boss and then never send would seem to complicate the prospects for her new project. That’s not the case, she says. “I have the luxury now to choose who I have in my business. I’ve
chosen people with good ethics and values. It’s very different.” One of them is Ronald Perelman, the billionaire investor who is friends with Mellon and has taken a small stake in her company. “I trust her implicitly, her judgment and loyalty and on top of it I think she’s a fun girl, a great girl.”
Jimmy Choo, a British high fashion house specializing
in shoes, handbags, accessories and fragrances, is moving forward with plans to open in the Buckhead Atlanta development. The footwear retailer was included late last year in the first official announcement of tenants opening in the former Streets of Buckhead project. OliverMcMillan, Buckhead Atlanta’s developer, Wednesday filed plans for Jimmy Choo’s 2,193-square-foot space on Buckhead Avenue in the mixed-use project.
JIMMY CHOO DESIGNER POSING W I T H A L I M I T E D E D I T I O N ST I L E T TO . BELOW: M S . M E L L O N AT T H E CHOO OFFICES.
L E F T:
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MANOLO BLAHNIK MANOLO BL AHNIK DOES NOT W A N T T O B E C O M E A C E L E B R I T Y, D E S P I T E T H E FA C T T H A T A N E W D O C U M E N TA RY A B O U T H I S L I F E .
M A N O LO B L A H N I K I N H I S E L E M E N T.
“The one thing I don’t want to be is a celebrity! No!” he exclaims over the phone from his London studio where he’s down with a cold “laryngitis, bronchitis, I have all the -itises!”
Manolo Blahnik was born on 27 November
1942 in the small village of Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands, where his family-his Spanish mother, Manuela, his Czechoslovakian father, Enan, and his younger sister, Evangelina-had a banana plantation. Manuela, a voracious consumer of fashion magazines, bought clothes on shopping trips to Paris and Madrid and had the island’s dressmaker copy styles from fashion magazines. She designed her own shoes with the help of the local cobbler.
Manolo Blahnik moved to Geneva at the age of fifteen to
live with his father’s cousin. Here he had his first experiences of the theater, opera, and fine restaurants. He studied law for a short period but soon switched to literature and art history. Blahnik left Geneva for Paris in 1965 to study art and theater design.
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Manolo Blahnik does not want to become a celebrity, despite the fact that a new documentary about his life.
“The one thing I don’t want to be is a
celebrity! No!” he exclaims over the phone
from his London studio where he’s down with a
cold “laryngitis, bronchitis, I have all the -itises!”
Manolo Blahnik was born on 27 November
1942 in the small village of Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands, where his family-his Spanish mother, Manuela, his Czechoslovakian father, Enan, and his younger sister, Evangelina-had a banana plantation. Manuela, a voracious consumer of fashion magazines, bought clothes S A R A H J E SS I C A PA R K E R M A D E MANOLO A HOUSEHOLD NAME THROUGH HER SEX AND THE C I T Y C H A R AC T E R’S LOV E FOR THE DESIGNER.
on shopping trips to Paris and Madrid and had the island’s dressmaker copy styles from fashion magazines. She designed her own shoes with the help of the local cobbler.
Manolo Blahnik moved to Geneva at the age of fifteen to
live with his father’s cousin. Here he had his first experiences of the theater, opera, and fine restaurants. He studied law for a short period but soon switched to literature and art history. Blahnik left Geneva for Paris in 1965 to study art and theater design.
MANOLO IN HIS OFFICE M A N O LO AS T H E F I R ST M A N ON THE COVER OF VOGUE
R I G H T: BELOW:
He worked at the trendy Left Bank
shop GO, where he met the actress Anouk Aime and the jewelry designer Paloma Picasso. With Picasso’s encouragement, Blahnik soon moved to London. While working at Feathers, a trendy boutique, he continued to cultivate his connections to the worlds of fashion and culture and was known for his unique style. But Blahnik was still searching for a specific vocation; the search then took him to New York City.
Blahnik arrived in New York City
in 1969. Hired by the store Zapata, he began designing men’s saddle shoes. In 1972 Blahnik was introduced to Ossie Clark, then
described the Manolo Blahnik shoe on its
one of London’s most fashionable designers,
front page as “the most talked about shoe in
who asked him to design the shoes for his
London.” Blahnik purchased Zapata from its
women’s collection. While the shoes were
owner in 1973. In 1978 he introduced a line
not commercially successful, the press noticed
exclusive to Bloomingdale’s, a well-known
their originality of design. Blahnik had no
American retailer. Blahnik opened a second
formal training as a shoemaker and initally his
free-standing store a year later on New York’s
designs were structually weak. He consulted
Madison Avenue.
with a London shoe manufacture in order to
correct his lack of technical skills. Also during
considerable publicity in the early 1980s,
this time Blahnik met Diana Vreeland, who
but his business was not running smoothly.
declared,
Searching for alternatives, he was introduced
Blahnik’s
creations
received
do
by Dawn Mello, the vice president of Bergdorf
accessories. Do shoes” (McDowell, p. 84).
Goodman, to an advertising copywriter named
This endorsement was seconded by China
George Malkemus. Malkemus and his partner,
Machado, the fashion editor of Harper’s
Anthony Yurgaitis, went into business with
Bazaar.
proclaimed
Blahnik in 1982. They closed the Madison
Blahnik “one of the most exotic spirits in
Avenue shop, opened a store on West Fifty-
London”
Fourth Street, and limited the distribution of
“Young
Women’s
in
man,
Wear
1973,
and
do
Daily
things,
Footwear
News
S I G N AT U R E VA L E N T I N O R O C KST U D S O V E R L O O K I N G N E W Y O R K C I T Y.
VALENTINO
F O R M A N Y, A N I D E A L O U T F I T S TA RTS W I T H A W E L L - TA I LO R E D WHITE SHIRT OR THE PERFECT JEANS.
But creating such classic pieces presents a challenge for
a fashion designer comparable to that faced by an architect making a kitchen stool. How to transform the prosaic into something peerless? Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, the creative directors of Valentino, are offering their answers.
Established in 1960 by the masterful Valentino Garavani,
Valentino is the storied label synonymous with the red dress. Since 2008 creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have successfully updated the brand, fusing the founder’s legendary design codes with a fresh aesthetic. Over 50 years later Valentino continues to produce hugely adored collections that are coveted by A-listers and fashion insiders alike. Each season the fash packs swoons over the latest update to a look that has been
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Of course, at the heart of that
aesthetic remains a certain Roman
glamour a regal, majestic kind
of magic that only a Valentino piece
could promise. ‘There’s something about a Valentino look it feels just as good in the flesh as it looks in the picture, and to me
that’s the definition of luxury.’
coveted by bloggers, editors and celebs alike,
Valentino leaves Italian roots aside
proving itself a major fashion power-player.
this season, taking us to the wild plains of
Despite their ubiquity and tenure, the shoes
Africa. From plain black to all-over bead
continue to sell out and show no sign of
embellishments, African tribal prints to quills
waning in popularity. Now, the numbers are
and peacock feathers, this SS16 makes for a
in to solidify its MVP status.
striking collection. The house’s tie-dye, cargo
and fringed pieces will lend your looks the
Valentino’s overall sales have doubled since
epitome of safari chic this summer.
the shoe’s introduction five years ago, and
The brand’s now signature extra is
As
reported
by
Style.com,
revenue in 2014 was up 36 percenthalf of S P E C I A L E D I T I O N VA L E N T I N O S WITH SKETCHES. R I G H T : V A L E N T I N O S O N D I S P L AY A T T H E F L AG S H I P STO R E I N N YC .
which can be attributed to accessories. Maria
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Grazia Chiuri, the brand’s co-creative director alongside Pierpaolo Piccioli, explained in the interview, “We never think to do something only for one season. We want to speak a language that speaks about style, and that becomes timeless. Our inspiration is to create something that you want to have with you for your life, forever.” To that we say, rock on.
SPECIAL EDITION VA L E N T I N O H E E L S .
Valentino is having a good year. And so far, a wonderful decade. After
being sold to private equity shop Permira in 2007, the fashion house founded by legendary draper Valentino Garavani was snapped up in 2011 by an investment firm run by Qatar’s royal family for a reported $730 million. In 2013, the 55-year-old house nearly doubled its earnings, while sales increased by 25 percent to more than $640 million from 2012. (In Asia, they jumped 70 percent, and in the U.S., 30 percent.)
It’s easy to see why. From accessories to couture, Valentino
is in demand. Since their promotion to co-creative directors in 2008, designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have managed to generate red carpet and retail buzz, while staying true to the ethos Garavani and his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, established.
It’s a tricky balance, and one not many creative
directors are able to pull off. Especially when the namesake is still around. (Yves Saint Laurent was famously unhappy with the work of Tom Ford and sent his successor several letters expressing this sentiment.) So while Garavani and Giammetti may not have a say in the day-to-day running of the business, they were very much still involved when Chiuri and Piccioli were appointed six years ago.
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SAINT LAURENT
NOTHING L ASTS FOREVER, WELL, E XC E P T F O R M AY B E T H E S T Y L E O F Y V E S SAINT L AURENT. FOR EVERY DECADE T H E R E ’S A Y S L L O O K T O G O W I T H I T ,
from Mondrian dresses of the ’60s up to the pouf shapes of the ’80s. (The latter was, in fact, just resurrected by Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent’s couture presentation at Paris Fashion Week.)
Lucky then, that a sale of rare Yves-designed pieces
arrives online at the Parisian vintage store Resee today. Cofounders Sofia Bernardin and Sabrina Marshall curated a selection of memorable items to mark the 50th anniversary of Saint Laurent’s Left Bank store. “In launching Rive Gauche in 1966, M. Saint Laurent became the first designer to approach ready-to-wear with the same detail and innovation as haute couture. We wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rive Gauche with pieces that reflected this: a spirit of modernity that was at one point very wearable and on the other side incredibly detailed and experimental,” they told Vogue.com over email.
The duo’s tight edit of six pieces includes the iconic
safari dress to a bow-necked blouse in red, white, and blue stripes. Alone, the items retain a nostalgic flair, but when styled with dip-dyed jeans and modern sandals, as shown on the site, they look thoroughly modern. “You can extract any piece from this sale and wear it today in a way that is modern and relevant,” they said.
Y V E S S A I N T L A U R E N T AT T H E BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER. B O T T O M : Y S L ’ S O N D I S P L AY. TOP:
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We wanted to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of Rive Gauche with pieces
that reflected this: a spirit of modernity
that was at one point very wearable
and on the other side incredibly detailed and experimental,” they told Vogue.com over email.
The duo’s tight edit of six pieces
YVES SAINT LAURENT IN HIS OFFICE.
includes the iconic safari dress to a bow-necked blouse in red, white, and blue stripes. Alone, the
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items retain a nostalgic flair, but when styled with
dip-dyed jeans and modern sandals, as shown on
of the pre-existing Fondation Pierre Berg Yves
the site, they look thoroughly modern. “You can
Saint Laurent at 5 Avenue Marceau. The space,
extract any piece from this sale and wear it today
which was used as Saint Laurent’s atelier and
in a way that is modern and relevant,” they said.
office for more than 30 years, will be fully
In September 2017, two new museums
refurbished in its original style, allowing visitors the
dedicated to the work of Yves Saint Laurent
opportunity to experience Saint Laurent’s studio as
will open in Paris and Marrakech, giving fans of
it was while he was sketching and designing.
fashion’s beloved couturier a closer look at his
career, designs, and life in the atelier.
Laurent’s adopted home of Marrakech, Morocco,
The first, in Paris, will be a renovation
Fifteen hundred miles away in Saint
another museum will open dedicated to the T H E C L A S S I C Y S L B L A C K P U M P.
designer’s work. Aptly located on the Rue Yves Saint Laurent near the famous Jardin Majorelle the Yves Klein blue outdoor paradise Saint Laurent inhabited with Berg and where his ashes were scattered the museum will display a number of the designer’s creations permanently, as well as house rotating exhibitions, a library, a cafe, and a restaurant.
The building will also be renovated
to include more exhibition space for the more than 20,000 couture pieces and accessories it
Fifteen
hundred
miles
away
in
Saint Laurent’s adopted home of Marrakech, Morocco,
another
museum
will
open
dedicated to the designer’s work. Aptly located on the Rue Yves Saint Laurent near the famous Jardin Majorelle the Yves Klein blue outdoor paradise Saint Laurent inhabited with Berg and where his ashes were scattered the museum will display a number of the designer’s creations permanently, as well as house rotating exhibitions, a library, a cafe, and a restaurant.
The new museum isn’t the Fondation’s
first venture in Marrakech it also maintains
maintains from the designer’s career.
the Berber Museum in the Jardin Majorelle, which is home to Berg and Saint Laurent’s vast collection of Berber art. Speaking to The Telegraph, Berg explained the decision to erect a fashion-based museum: “When Yves Saint Laurent discovered Marrakech in 1966, he was so moved by the place that he decided to buy a house and regularly go back there. It feels perfectly natural, 50 years later, to build a museum dedicated to his oeuvre, which was so inspired by this country.”
While the openings of both spaces
are still some time away, you can get a sense of what to expect in each here, with archival photos of Saint Laurent’s Parisian studio and YVES SAINT LAURENT IN HIS OFFICE. YVES SAINT LAURENT IN MARRAKECH I N 19 7 7.
BELOW: R I G H T:
a look at his life in Morocco as depicted in the pages of Vogue.
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Shoes have been a woman’s favorite
of class, elegance and high fashion. These
accessories for centuries, ranging
shoes intended to create the illusion of longer
from sandals made over 8,000 years
legs but resulted in creating a mass market
ago
product that generates millions dollars of
to
the
newest,
latest
and
greatest style of shoes that grace the cover of
revenue a year.
the most glamorous fashion magazine. They
can make or break an outfit. They can dress it
few luxury brands that skyrocketed to the top
up for a night on the town or make an outfit
and occupy the niche market. The following
more casual for a day of errands.
pages of this book show the best of the best
However, there’s something special
and the cream of the crop. Feel the elegance
about the high heel. First created as a way
and start planning your next trip to the mall.
There are some imitators, but only a
to elevate a woman’s heel abover her toe, now the high heel can be seen as a symbol
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J U N E 11 - S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 016 FRICK ART & HISTORICAL CENTER