Hong Kong, May 14 -- For anyone intrigued by shoes,Manolo Blahnik becomes a point of reference. There is hardly any celebrity who does not own a Blahnik collectable, and it's safe to say that for someone who has not received formal training in footwear design, Blahnik today defines luxury footwear.

The Spanishshoe mavenmoved to Paris in 1965 to become a set designer and soon to London in 1968. He began working at Zapata, a London boutique. However, his love for accessory design showed up soon. On a trip to New York in 1970, he happened to meet the late Diana Vreeland, Vogue's iconic editor and shared his portfolio with her. Vreeland prompted him to create shoes. The following year, Blahnik created shoes for British designer Ossie Clark, ...