Manolo Blahnik makes its Milan debut, set to end 2025 with growth

Manolo Blahnik has opened its first standalone store in Milan. The 300-square-metre space (200 of which are retail) at Via Pietro Verri 5 is the brand’s largest European flagship, second in size globally only to its New York store, the company’s CEO and founder’s niece, Kristina Blahnik, told FashionNetwork.com.

The opening marks an important step in the expansion of the London-based luxury footwear and accessories label, which also rose to prominence thanks in part to the TV series Sex and the City. It also fulfils Manolo Blahnik’s own promise to his long-time friends, Anna Piaggi and Franca Sozzani, “who really introduced my uncle to Italian culture,” said Kristina Blahnik.

The investment is underpinned by the company’s growth. “We will close 2025 with revenue up 5% on 2024 (which closed at €86.4 million; ed.). And we expect to maintain the same trend in 2026,” stressed the CEO, who noted an upcoming opening in November at South Coast Plaza in California, in addition to the recent openings in Milan and Miami. “Next year it will be China’s turn. Then we’ll slow down because we want to enjoy what we’ve done, without rushing,” said Blahnik.

The location in Milan’s Quadrilatero della Moda, spread over three floors (two of which are open to the public), took years to find. “We should have opened in Milan 30 or 40 years ago. Because our shoes are made in Italy,” the CEO continued. The company is deeply rooted in Italy, where it manufactures its collections, which are shipped from here to more than 30 countries worldwide. This deep synergy with Italy culminated in 2019 in the acquisition of partner Re Marcello, a historic footwear factory in Vigevano. “The transaction sealed the union of two families. It was a turning point because we took control of the supply chain, understanding every aspect,” Kristina noted.

The Milan boutique is inspired by the Blahnik family kitchen in Spain, characterised by black-and-white tiles and enriched with references to the design of Josef Hoffmann. The project was led by Kristina, an architect by training, who joined the family business 16 years ago, when the brand had 10 employees and a single store that also served as its headquarters.

“I grew up in the store, where I shipped shoes and photographed lookbooks. As a child, after school, I brushed suede and vacuumed,” the entrepreneur recalls. “That’s why I want each of our stores to feel like a living room. We are not here to sell shoes, but to tell stories,” she says. And the kitchen itself evokes a family environment, Blahnik continues, “where everything happens, we are happy and socialise. I want people to come here to relax, look out, have a coffee, have a drink, read a newspaper,” the CEO added.

Today the Manolo Blahnik brand employs 250 people and operates 20 stores worldwide, and is reaping the rewards of a development strategy launched in 2018. “The world of department stores was changing, e-commerce was taking off and consumers were changing their shopping habits. At the time, direct-to-consumer accounted for 1% of our business, with the rest wholesale. Now we have a healthy balance and this year we will reach about 44% with DTC, but our goal remains 50%,” concluded Kristina Blahnik.