“Once upon a time there was a lizard, a dog, and all manner of lively animal friends, who wore shoes…and not just any shoes, but magical shoes…”
So begins Camilla Morton’s latest book, a biography of the life of Manolo Blahnik which takes the form of the fairytale ‘The Elves and The Shoemaker’.
This beautifully told story follows Manolo Blahnik’s life from his beginnings on a banana plantation to his current Chelsea store and is illustrated in watercolours and sketches by the man himself.
He told Vogue,
“I haven’t ever illustrated a book like this before, but it was very cathartic in a way to look back and draw images from my past. I knew Camilla would create something marvellous. It was a very fun adventure.”
And the illustrations show just how much work went into the book, creating an aura of magic around the whole story and really making you believe that Blahnik has lived a fairy tale.
This isn’t Camilla Morton’s first foray into publishing fairy tales; last year she teamed up with Christian Lacroix on his biography which was interwoven with ‘Sleeping Beauty‘ and it looks like this could be a series that Morton will be writing for a while, though no other collaborations have been announced yet.
I love this fairy tale book and will be reading it to my baby as soon as he or she is here; what a great way to introduce a child to the beauty of fashion and the magic behind creating a new piece.
