As New Yorkers Return to the City, So Does Manolo Blahnik

Before Carrie Bradshaw confidently click-clacked across Manhattan in her Manolo Blahniks, models wobbled down the runway in the shoe designer’s first collection in 1971. At the time, fashion media declared that it was “a new way of walking!” In fact Blahnik, who never formally trained as a shoe-maker, had forgotten to put steel pins in the heels, and the shoes were nearly unwearable.

As New Yorkers strap on their stilettos again—trotting out like unsteady baby gazelles in what we can kindly call, uhm, “a new way of walking!” —it is only fitting that Manolo Blahnik is returning to Manhattan with his new flagship at 717 Madison Avenue. To toast his comeback, and the revival of New York City in general, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and actress Sandra Bernhard hosted a cabaret at the Carlyle. “I wanted to mark the return to New York with something fun and entertaining and what better way than a cabaret, which is so over the top, with one of my oldest friends?” says Blahnik. The two designers met when Mizrahi was 18 and working at Perry Ellis and they instantly connected. They are so close Mizrahi jokes that his mother often forgets Blahnik isn’t her real son. “It feels relevant to sing and talk about Manolo,” says Mizrahi. “It’s not exactly a tribute as much as a celebration. And the Cafe Carlyle is a classic NYC spot.”

Mizrahi, who has always loved performing, sang a series of renditions in honor of Blahnik, including “I Feel Pretty,” and “These Boots are Made for Walking.” Guests, including Sarah Hoover, Lydia Fenet, Amy Fine Collins, Leandra Medine, Casey Fremont, and Nicky Hilton, tuned in virtually, hosting intimate parties of their own alongside the show. Regardless if they were staying in or going out, Blahnik issued one important mandate: "No matter if they are at the event, or watching at home–everyone must dress up in their most divine, glamorous outfits with the highest heels they own! It’s an order!"

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