An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik


Magical exhibition at the Wallace Collection showing shoes by Manolo Blahnik among the art works.

I have to admit straight away that I am a shoe nut so of course I was going to love this show. Sadly I don’t and can’t wear shows like this anymore but I could easily have them as ornaments! Blahnik has been inspired by the Wallace Collection paintings, furniture and porcelain over the years and the shoes echo the style and detail of the art they are shown with.

The shoes were shown in glass domes in themes to match the rooms they are shown in. I loved the “Love and Passion” section shown in the Oval Drawing Room alongside the famous Fragonard of the girl on a swing losing her shoe. I was also charmed by the way shoes were shown alongside snuff boxes and miniatures in the Boudoir Cabinet, shown off like the art objects they are.

There were some great examples in the Great Gallery and it was wonderful to see the art through the domes and they had been arranged well to reflect the colours in the pictures. They did make you look at the art in a new way and drew you attention to pieces you hadn’t noticed before but most importantly they were beautiful shoes!

Closes 27 October 2019.

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