Manolo Blahnik: Fleeting Gestures and Obsessions - Tapa dura

"Manolo Blahnik has developed a marvelous habit when it comes to storytelling . . . Each section of the book blends inspirations - a person, like Blahnik's late confidante Anna Piaggi, or a place, like El Caribe - with photographs of shoe designs they influenced, many of them shot by the designer's longtime friend and collaborator, Michael Roberts. . . All in all: Perfection!" -VOGUE "A fascinating look into the mind of a passionately creative person, Fleeting Gestures and Obsessions is a gorgeous new tome that chronicles the myriad inspirations of the sublime shoemaker Manolo Blahnik." -1stDibs.com "Manolo Blahnik is a master shoe craftsman and design visionary - all women know this fact. But Manolo Blahnik: Fleeting Gestures and Obsessions gives us more than just a glance into his impressive shoe collections through the years, which features more than 250 designs. The book also shows us how the man behind the iconic luxury brand works and how his work and inspirations evolved through the years." -NORTHERN VIRGINIA MAGAZINE "A compendium of esoteric, exhilarating conversations between Blahnik and everyone from a Cambridge classicist and a Prado curator to Pedro Almodovar and Sofia Coppola. In the course of these meandering dialogues, Blahnik marvels at the fragility of Caligula's pearl-studded sandals, fixates on such art-historical minutiae as the toenails in Velasquez's Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan, judges the naked feet of Alain Delon in Purple Noon to be 'divine, ' and grows delirious gazing at the original manuscript of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard, his favorite novel." -VANITY FAIR "Here's a gift for shoe lovers that will fit perfectly: a sumptuous coffee table book featuring a detailed pictorial of over four decades of haute heels and swanky stilettos from shoemaker extraordinaire, Manolo Blahnik. . . With a foreword written by the master himself, this book is so gorgeous it might require an upgrade to a coffee table worthy of its pages." -BELLA NEW YORK MAGAZINE

The first comprehensive and lavishly illustrated volume to document the influences and life work of Manolo Blahnik, one of the most influential and talked-about icons in contemporary fashion. Featuring more than forty years of shoe design, this is the definitive monograph of the work of Manolo Blahnik, one of the titans of contemporary fashion. This book is a comprehensive survey of Blahnik's work and provides access to never-before-seen photography of his designs. Drawing inspiration from the worlds of architecture, art, film, and literature, Blahnik is a master of the art of the shoe. His exciting use of color, unprecedented designs, and exquisitely sculpted heels make his shoes some of the most coveted in the world. Featuring more than 250 iconic designs from his archive, the book reveals for the very first time the inspirations behind his singular artistic vision. With insightful chapters devoted to Blahnik's most powerful relationships and inspirations-including Marie Antoinette, Diana Vreeland, Cecil Beaton, Spanish and Italian film, the works of Goya and Velazquez and the Prado Museum-this book is a personal look into the man behind the shoes. Beautiful photography and thoughtful essays by fashion writers, curators, and colleagues give readers a unique opportunity to access Blahnik's vivid and creative-filled world.