'When a Man Finds Something, His Passion Becomes a Loyalty' Manolo's Kristina Blahnik Wisdom
Kristina Blahnik, the Chief Executive of luxury shoemakers Manolo Blahnik, explains the difference between male and female customers — and why the house won’t be caught chasing the trend for trainers.
I am delighted to say that Manolo Blahnik’s offices are exactly how you’d hope they would be. I arrived for the interview at the given address, and thought it might be one of those requisitioned townhouses in Mayfair that hold multiple companies on various floors, but I needn’t have worried. The building also displayed two characteristics: firstly, it was a monument to, and parable about, longevity and a business’s ability to grow from humble beginnings; secondly, it was refreshingly unbranded and respectful of the location’s architectural heritage, undisturbed, as it was, by ephemera — a classy move. In walked Kristina Blahnik, the Chief Executive of the brand and a niece of its legendary eponym, and it all began to make sense. Kristina was understated in dress, striking in bearing, and tall and elegant like a ballet dancer.
She captains the ship and sees her role as straddling both sides of the brain: the creative side, where the brand lives and dies by the designs of its products, and the objective side, where she has to handle complex and unspoken matters, like international wholesale deals. It seems to be perfectly suited to her, evidenced by the fact she trained as an architect, which she argues (rather well) also requires you to live in both the creative and academic parts of the brain. The Rake spoke to her about how Manolo Blahnik retain their loyalty and how they plan to bring more men into the fold.
I believe colour on your feet is like punctuation... Salmon pink was our bestselling original set of 15 Oxfords.
This world has been built as a family business, and it is personal, emotional and passion-based. I think, at this moment, human connection, credibility, sincerity and transparency are more important than ever. The more I hear about inflated price points and how some brands have lost track of the real people behind the investment, we are so careful to guard that.
Consumers are more savvy and more cautious, and therefore price rises should be in line with the cost of production, but no more than that; it must be linear.
I believe that colour on your feet is like punctuation. I gave my godson a pair of Manolos for his confirmation, so he was 17. I took him into the store, and it was a real ‘grown-up’ moment, but he was choosing between purple suede Oxfords and brown suede Chelsea boots, and he went with the Oxfords.
The craft in men’s shoes is vastly more interesting than women’s when it comes to construction. Women’s is more interesting in the upper, because you have pleating and ornaments, but [I’m talking about] how a shoe is technically made.
I originally started as an architect. I had my own practice for 10 years and then came into this business, so I would get the team to draw the cross-section of a shoe so I could get to grips with it. I thought I would be an architect for life, and I still am, it is just that my output is different. As an architect you sit in the middle space of creativity and organisation.
When I was looking at the psychology of male versus female investments, there is a danger of simplifying it too much [but] men’s was needs-based and women’s was passion-based. I think that line has blurred, it is not as clear-cut. When a man finds something, that passion becomes a loyalty; as a woman I am more distracted but I am loyal to certain looks that will have longevity.
I think men are less predictable. When we put out our tartan tweed boot, that is not something I would expect to sell lots of, but it seems to be what people get very excited about. Salmon-pink was our bestselling original set of 15 Oxfords. Our mission was always to be colourful and light.
There are two main ways we do outreach: through discovery either on Burlington Arcade or the space in New York, interconnected with our women’s shop on Madison Avenue; and the other is from partners who are familiar with the brand and [who] pass the message on. We also do beautiful events that tell the story of our shoes and [our] critical designs, like the Mario, our slipper, which I think we have done in more than 80 different fabrics over the 50 years we have been making men’s shoes.
Sneakers have been over-designed to the point that they look like speedboats, and I do not understand that aesthetic. It would dilute all of this. Be narrow and focused on what you are doing — we do traditional looks with a twist of colour. Sneakers are technical and such a research and development area, there are experts in that and I think that is who people should go to, not somewhere that is trying to fit it in for commercial gain or because it is the on-trend object. It means people know what they are coming to us for.
All our shoes are made in Italy, except the espadrilles, which are made in Spain, as that is a Spanish craft. We work closely with them to get lightness and comfort; you have to go through many stages before a customer tries them on. Once they find something they like they will come back to it.
2023 grew on ’22 and ’24 grew on ’23 for men’s. The Asian market has always been strong for men’s shoes in general, but I think there is something about what we do that talks to the Hong Kong and Chinese consumer. America is starting to wake up, and Europe is a little bit more conservative, but it is Asia that is raising an eyebrow and saying, ‘Hello, I need to explore this’.
With women’s, every three months there is a wave of creativity and newness, whereas with men’s it is a much slower evolution. I like the dynamism of the women’s collection, but the men’s is a creative investment that is meant to be timeless and have more longevity. I love the consistency of the men’s category, it is a different pace.
