Buoyant Manolo Blahnik opens up archives via The Craft Room initiative

Fresh from filing stellar results earlier this week, on Tuesday, Manolo Blahnik announced a major launch with the unveiling of The Craft Room within the luxury footwear and accessories brand’s archives using VR tech.

The company has never allowed access to its factories or processes before so said the launch is “a big moment for us”.

Launching now, it’s a “big celebration of our artistry and artisans”.

The Craft Room explores “the artistry behind the Manolo Blahnik men’s and women’s collections”. Viewers can uncover the anatomy of a shoe and browse hundreds of pieces of content with a behind-the-scenes view from Manolo Blahnik, “giving an unparalleled insight into the craft of shoe-making”. It explores the designer’s creativity process, his “mastery of embellishment, key styles throughout his career, which are Illustrated through key editorials from leading publications and much more”.

And to celebrate the unveiling the company is opening a “multi-sensory virtual and physical Manolo Blahnik exhibition” at Carlos Place in partnership with xydrobe, a new luxury virtual reality (VR) destination. The VR experience happens in a xydrobe ‘pod’ which takes the viewer on a journey through the factory floor and into the world of Manolo Blahnik.

The award-winning virtual experience actually debuted in 2021 to mark the 50th anniversary of the label but is being expanded and revealed for the first time to a global audience.

What visitors will see includes eight vignettes that delve into the craft process.

Designed by CEO Kristina Blahnik, creative features in the virtual space includes the house’s signature polka dot motif as a ‘wallpaper’, originally inspired by Blahnik’s Spanish roots. The centre point of the experience is a replica of the designer’s desk, which acts as the wayfinder to other rooms within the world of Manolo. 

Kristina Blahnik said: “I am delighted to showcase the craft room in our virtual archives, a place to celebrate over 50 decades of my uncle’s illustrious career. The development of this digital space has been a passion of mine for many years. To finally bring it to life in 2021 was a dream come true and now to be adding a further room this year, highlighting a key pillar of our business is another milestone I’m incredibly proud of. We hope to educate you on our wonderful and skilled craft of shoemaking and show you first hand how our dedicated artisans bring Manolo’s iconic collections to life. Craftsmanship really is and always will be at the heart of everything we do.”