‘Never take yourself seriously, or you’re finished,” says shoe designer extraordinaire Manolo Blahnik in this documentary about the maestro himself. But the best thing about this bijou, perfectly proportioned fashion doc (a sub-genre in its own right these days) is that, for all its zippy graphics and jaunty music, it actually takes Blahnik seriously, and rightly so. Sure, there are plenty of headshots of famous fashionistas, from Vogue’s Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley to Rihanna and Karlie Kloss, hymning the perfection of his pumps, mules and kitten heels, but there’s also a proper appreciation of his craftsmanship, skill and depth of historical knowledge.
Blahnik is one of the last great hands-on designers who carves heels himself and sculpts the lasts (3D shoe templates) himself. Although he’s had a storied career, having been one of the anointed beautiful people since this late 60s (in his youthful prime, David Bailey shot him for the cover of Vogue with Anjelica Huston), he still comes across as a modest, giggly sweetheart in a lavender suit, as appreciative of a Goya painting as he is of an anonymous woman he once spotted in a railway station who was wearing a pair of his shoes.
