There are shoes, there are beautiful shoes – and then, of course, there are Manolo Blahnik shoes. Over a five-decade-long career, the designer has enraptured customers with his spectacular extravagance and refined femininity. This season, Blahnik’s autumn 2023 Men’s Collection is inspired by his first-ever boutique in Chelsea. A love letter to his favourite locales, including the devil-may-care charm of the Chelsea gentleman and the upscale elegance of Brompton Cross, expect embossed velvets, opulent embroidery, and what would a Manolo be without a baguette crystal buckle?

Exuding autumnal city chic, with this collection Blahnik has struck a balance between heritage and contemporary creativity through updated styles such as his sumptuous leather lace-ups with mesh cutouts. ‘I want shoes to have old-fashioned values,’ Blahnik explains. ‘Things have got to last. The nature of fashion is change, but you can do it in ways that are not so obvious. You can change in my way.’

Inspired by historic Georgian members’ clubs, indulgent loafers and slippers are redolent of a more decadent form of evening dressing, channelling archetypal London sophistication and embracing a new take on a bygone era of luxury footwear for men.

The past has always played a large role in Blahnik’s creative process, inspiration flowing from snapshots of a time gone by: ‘Memory and objects… recollections of my schooldays in Geneva, where my classmates were from California and wore soft loafers or saddle shoes – two-tone, made from white buckskin and coloured leather,’ the designer recounts. ‘Or art: I live in museums and galleries, in person or online. I recently saw the most exquisite exhibition of Antonello da Messina, and I love the 17th and 18th-century Spanish, so beautiful; Ribera, Zurbarán, Goya, Velázquez. The use of colours – colours you couldn’t imagine.’

A rhapsodic offering dedicated to escapes to Mediterranean climes, Blahnik’s collection also features soft Nappa drivers, artisanal sandals and laid-back loafers inspired by the allure of the Italian island Pantelleria. Sun-baked and salt-kissed, the palette recalls days spent poolside and by the sea, while unexpected additions such as colour-pop piping and handcrafted tassels reflect Blahnik’s own sartorial inclinations. ‘I am beginning to learn a few new tricks,’ said Blahnik at the launch of his men’s collection back in 2020. ‘Even if I am an old boy. In Mediterranean countries, places like Capri, Milan and Rome, everyone is in sandals in the heat of the summer. It reminds me of when I went to Washington DC to see the Ramones – everyone was wearing sandals. It’s great,’ he mused. ‘Unless you have terrible feet, of course!’

The final stop in Manolo Blahnik’s autumn 23 universe is the charming mountain landscape of Aspen, Colorado. Imagined against the town’s sleek slopes and cosy chalet-style living, the season’s essential boots and slippers are designed for lounging, employing the hygge aesthetic of a summit lodge fireside. Shearling-lined, the styles exude elevated comfort. At the intersection of sleek functionality and distinguished style, rugged lug soles, tone-on-tone lacing, and cashmere collars embody après-ski adventure and high-end luxury.

Individually made and each designed by Blahnik alone, every shoe is sketched freehand using brushes and watercolour ink. There is, in fact, a circular quality to the creation of his ideas as they begin and end as works of art, masterfully crafted with stylistic lines and impressionistic flair. ‘I sketch all my thoughts like an inner meditation with my hand,’ says Blahnik. Indeed, his new men’s collection undeniably evokes a sense of transcendent craftsmanship, while evidently very much inspired by the renowned designer’s most beloved cultural haunts the world over.

manoloblahnik.com