Referencing some of the most defining artistic elements of Italy’s colourful and eclectic culture through the centuries, Manolo Blahnik’s Spring 2022 collection will lend your wardrobe character and vibrancy.
The Trianga Pump
As a tribute to the era-defining 1960s images of Peggy Moffitt in Rudi Gernreich’s cutaway swimsuit, Blahnik created a graphic triangular series featuring a monochromatic design. His vision is showcased here with the Trianga pump, which melds vintage charm with a bold modern spirit.
The Timata Pump
Commedia dell’arte, or Italian comedy, provided a spark of audacious and playful inspiration to Blahnik, who translated the 16th-century art form’s distinctive costuming – defined by scalloped borders and a pastel palette – into this alluring Timanta pump.
The Maysalebi mule
Blahnik revisited the iconic work of fellow designers created during the golden age of couture in the ‘40s and ’50s, which fired his imagination – the result of which is this eye-catching scarlet floral print on the coquettish Maysalebi mule.
The Caracol Sandal and the Trinamu Sandal
Having reiterated that he “cannot live without the beauty of Sicily”, the designer studied vivid 19th-century photographs of the island by novelist Giovanni Verga for this collection, subsequently translating their portrayed austerity and restraint into the delicate yet sensual Caracol sandal (above, top).
Opulent, ornate jewels of the late Georgian period in the early 1800s served as the muse for this season’s embellishments. In particular, the jewellery style’s sweeping lines and nature-based motifs inspired the sculpted sparkling triangular buckles on the gemstone-coloured Trinamu sandal (above, bottom).
(Main and featured image: Jack Hunter)
This story first appeared in the April 2022 issue of Prestige Singapore.
