Manolo Blahnik's Confections: Marie Antoinette's Shoes, 2006

Ahhh! The wonderful, frivolous bonbons that are the shoes featured in Sofia Copolla�s 2006 film, Marie Antoinette. Designed by the acclaimed Manolo Blahnik, these beribboned, bejeweled pastel silk mules and shoes are almost a guilty pleasure; for some, even distracting attention from setting, plot, and the lovely Kristen Dunst. In their frosting-like decadence, these shoes are the perfect embodiment of the lavish lifestyle associated with Marie Antoinette.

Silk shoes designed by Manolo Blahnik

(British, born Spain, 1942)

Fall/Winter 2005�6

Metropolitan Museum Gift of Manolo Blahnik, 2006

Accession Number: 2006.512.1a, b

Blahnik commented on the film:

��.the camera lingers for a moment on the shoes, and the ladies of the court are looking at the shoes, and it's quite extraordinary how they captured it. I'm very, very pleased actually; it was a challenge for me, but I was very surprised.�

What is Manolo Blahnik�s fascination with shoes?

�If I do this job, it's because I have a passion for legs, women's legs, and that is why I still do it. Every day I just think about something and I go back to the drawing board.�

Pass the petit fours, s'il vous plait!