Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik, born in the Canary Islands, came to shoes after Diana Vreeland saw his theatre sketches in New York and told him to make accessories. He founded his label in London in 1970, and the heels he made for Ossie Clark's show in May 1971 caused a sensation; his shop on Old Church Street in Chelsea is still the flagship. The BB pump and the jewel-buckled Hangisi, worn by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, are among the house classics, and his niece Kristina Blahnik has run the company since 2013.