LOS MANOLOS SHOES OF MANOLO BLAHNIK DESIGNER

The shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands, Spain 1942), has been recently awarded the National Prize Fashion Design 2012. Internationally renowned, Manolo Blahnik has used the last four decades in dress women's feet with his famous "Manolos" designs that sometimes reach eight inches heel.

Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and raised in the Canary Islands, Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris. He moved to London in 1968 to work at fashion boutique "Zapata" and wrote for Vogue Italia. After showing his portfolio of fashions and set designs to Diana Vreeland, she told him that he should design only footwear. In 1972, Ossie Clark invited him to create shoes for his runway show. With a loan of £2,000, Blahnik bought "Zapata" from its owner and opened his own boutique

Influenced by Visconti's films and paintings by El Greco, Goya, Velázquez and Zurbarán, Spanish designer has created more than 20,000 pairs of shoes following a traditional process in which he designs, shapes and finishes each of his shoes, who baptizes with the original names.

Manolos typically cost between 500 and 6000 euros. With 22,000  designed shoes, Blahnik has worked with heels of all heights and popularity of their models finished giving his own name to them and inventing some models, like the "kitten heel" (a heel of 3 cm).

In the 1970s,  Manolo Blahnik turned back his attention to the stiletto heel, which has remained the brand's mainstay to this day. Manolo Blahnik shoes have rapidly become a symbol of pure classical style for the 21st century.

Blahnik's boutiques are located in London, New York, Las Vegas, Dublin, Athens, Madrid, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Stockholm.

Part of their success has to do with celebrities from film and music who love his shoes such as Madonna, who has come to describe them as "better than sex", since "last longer". Or such as  the actress Sarah Jessica Parker in the series "Sex and the City", who in one of its chapters and fully struggle with a burglar pleads " Take my Fendi bag, my ring and my watch, but please do not take my Manolo Blahniks". 

Also Los Manolos appear in a Lady Gaga song and in the "Twilight saga: Breaking Dawn" film, Bella Swam wears Manolo Blahnik shoes for her wedding. They appear as well in the bestseller “Fifty shades of Grey”. And Letizia Ortiz wore Manolos when she married Prince Philip. And among his many admirers are: Jessica Biel, Kathy Perry, Miranda Kerr, Jennifer Aniston, Rihanna, Katie Holmes, Blake Lively, Olivia Palermo and Victoria Beckham.

"Men tell me I've saved their marriages, it has cost them a fortune on shoes, but it's cheaper than a divorce, so it seems that I am still useful", the designer jokes .......

This prodigious shoemaker have accumulated numerous awards. Blahnik was elevated to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1987. He was awarded the honorary title of  Commander of the British Empire in 2007 for his service to the British fashion industry and was the first shoe designer who has exhibited his work at the Design Museum in London.

Blahnik currently lives in Bath, United Kingdom and was awarded an honorary degree from Bath Spa University in July 2012.

There is not any doubt Los Manolos are elegant, prestigious, beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful, amazing....... but........ I have only just one question ....…..are they also comfortable?

Source: 

El diario de Navarra

20 minutos

Wikipedia

FREIXENET COMMERCIALS, THE MOST ELEGANT IN CHRISTMAS TIME

As Christmas approaches, Spanish publicists throw the boat out and waste all their creativity in the ads they do for these dates. And one of the most eagerly awaited each year in my country is the Freixenet cava commercial. The Christmas TV commercials of Freixenet cava, from the late 70's to today have always been the longest and most expensive made ​​in Spain. They are always very artistic and elegant. And each year some celebrity who wishes all of us a Merry Christmas. Last year was Shakira and this year will be featured by the Spanish flamenco dancer Sara Baras.

Although the list is very long, other celebrities who have highlighted with their presence these commercials along the years were, for example, Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone, Paul Newman, Cindy Crawford, Gwynneth Paltrow and Angel Corella, Pierce Brosnan and the Spanish top model Nieves Alvarez, Paz Vega, Penelope Cruz, Andie McDowell and dancer Nacho Duato, Shirley McLain and Miguel Bose, the ballerina Tamara Rojo, Meg Ryan, Placido Domingo, Liza Minnelli, Don Johnson, Raquel Welch, Cristopher Reeve, Ann Margret, Alejandro Sanz, Demi Moore and many moooore! (sorry for the little joke...)

Shakira Freixenet Ad- 2010

The Spanish team synchronized swimming - 2008 and 2009

 Gwynneth Paltrow and Angel Corella - 2007

Pierce Brosnan and Nieves Alvarez model - 2004



Kim Bassinger with a look like Veronica Lake - 1994

Sharon Stone and Antonio Banderas - 1992

As I have told above, this year the chosen celeb has been Sara Baras. Dressed in gold, surrounded by soap bubbles and doing what she does best, dancing, so the dancer from Cadiz appears in the new cava ad. The spot was shot in Barcelona under the direction of Howard Greenlagh, the same director who handled the commercial in 2009 that had as bubbles to the Spanish synchronized swimming team. A flamenco dancer accompanies Sara, Juan Carlos Martinez, the main dancer and choreographer of the National Dance Company.

And this is the FREIXENET video commercial 2011, that we already can watch at the telly from last Thursday, I think is amazing, I hope you think the same, please enjoy the flamenco bubble Sara Baras!

THE DUCHESS OF ALBA GIVES AWAY HER INHERITANCE IN ADVANCE TO MARRY

in a party last June with Alfonso

This is not the first post I have written about her and it won’t be the last one but I have to admit she is one of my favourite celebrities in Spain, because of many reasons. And now she is again in the news because she has given away her inmense personal fortune in order to be free to marry his 60 aged fiancé Alfonso Diez.

The children of the Duchess have had until now blocked her plans to marry Alfonso Diez, a civil servant in the department of Social Security who also runs a PR business.

Her six children were all born from her first marriage to Pedro Luis Martinez de Irujo, son of the Duke of Sotomayor, who died in 1972. Being a widowed in 1978 she shocked the nation when she remarried to the former jessuist priest and intellectual Jesus Aguirre y Oritz de Zarate, who died in 2001. And in 2008 a new man appeared in the life of the Duchess, Alfonso Diez, whose relationship was said ti be based on a long friendship and without plans to marry. But things changed and meanwhile the civil servant was getting closer to the Duchess, the opposition of the children to the wedding was noticeable.

On February 26th, Cayetana of Alba criticized their behavior in an radio interview: "We do not know why my kids put difficulty into our relationship. We do not hurt anyone. I hope things will be sorted out. Alfonso wants nothing, he has renounced everything. He doesn’t want anything but me”. At that moment, the Duchess was already clearing out obstacles to their marriage plans.

At the beginning of July, before the family started summer holidays, Cayetana of Alba called all her children to a meeting in the office of notary Luis Nuñez in Madrid. Some weeks later we all learned why, after reading a press report from the Europa Press agency: the duchess had decided to donate part of their fortune in life. At 85, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, the 18th Duchess of Alba and third woman to head the House of Alba in its 539 years of history, the aristocrat with so many titles that it is doubtful if she could recite them by heart, had decided to settle one of the thorniest issues in any family, what do I give to whom?

The duchess’s personal wealth is estimated at between 600m and 3.500bn euros, though she insists she is not that wealthy. She has said: "I have a lot of artworks, but I can’t eat them, can I?". And this is true, there is no doubt, but that includes: hundreds of paintings (velazquez, goyas, tizianos....), waterprints (even one signed by Charles Chaplin and another signed by Empress Eugenia de Montijo), tapestries, pieces of pottery, miniatures, a first edition of Don Quijote, Columbus’ first map of America and the last will and testament of King Fernando el Católico, father of Catherine of Aragon and many more…… But finally the distribution of the main part of the inheritance has been thus:

- Carlos Fitz-James Stuart (Madrid, 1948), the firstborn of the Duchess will receive the title, besides the Fundación Casa de Alba (with its palaces of Liria and Monterrey, among others), the collection of fifty dukedoms, marquis, counties and the responsibility to preserve the historical legacy of the House of Alba.

- Alfonso Martinez de Irujo, duke of Aliaga (Madrid, 1950), will receive the ancient castle of El Tejado (XIV) in Salamanca and several rural plots.

- Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Earl of Siruela (Madrid, 1954), editorial director of the prestigious Siruela and Atalanta, will receive some rural properties.

- Fernando Martinez de Irujo, Marquis of San Vicente del Barco (Madrid, 1959) will inherit the stately home in Marbella Las Cañas and some farms.

- Cayetano Martinez de Irujo, Count of Salvatierra (Madrid, 1963) will own the palace of San Sebastian and Arbaizenea farmhouse Las Arroyuelas in Seville.

- Eugenia Martinez de Irujo, Duchess of Montoro (Madrid, 1968) will own an estate in Ibiza where the Duchess of Alba is just spending her summer holidays with her boyfriend. Also she will inherit the farmhouse La Pizana.

And the Duchess has also wanted to donate a country estate to eight of his nine grandchildren and the ninth grandchild (son of his firstborn) has inherited El Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville.

And now there is only one thing to wait for: the wedding, which presumably will take place in Seville next September. But meanwhile she is relaxing in Ibiza, perhaps thinking of her big day.......

Source:

http://www.elpais.com/

KYLIE MINOGUE, ANDRES VELENCOSO AND TOSSA DE MAR, A TRIO OF BEAUTIES

Andres Velencoso is a Spanish male model born in Tossa de Mar (a beautiful and picturesque small town near Barcelona in Catalonia) in 1978 and is the boyfriend of gorgeous Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue, since July 2008.

Before he started dating Kylie, he was best known for ad campaigns such as Channel Allure Homme, H&M, Loewe, Jean Paul Gaultier, Sports Fragrance and Louis Vuitton campaign with Jennifer Lopez in 2003, among others And he has been on the covers of many top fashion magazines such as Vanity Fair or Elle.

Though his journey to success was not easy, in fact it was filled with frustration and ejections in the beginning, a buzzed haircut and a muscular body didn’t seem to be the ideal image that European market demanded. When Andres went to Milan, almost every agent thought that he was too big and goofy. But Natalie Kates, an agent from N.Y. based Q Model Management opened the door to Andres, who finally landed in N.Y. in 2001. In 2003 he was the subject of French Vogue’s first male model profile and that launched him to the eyes of fashion and catapulted him to become the new male icon.

His mother Lucia died in 2002 and since he was very close to her, he tattoed his name on his arm (very touching). His father and two sisters live in Tossa de Mar and there he goes very often with Kylie, where she has got involved very much with the family, attending the restaurant of Andres’s father even!

She says she would like to get married and have children with him. Good luck to them and let’s hope their relationship will last forever!

 Below I enclose a video with their romantic kiss in the last show of Kylie in Barcelona, last March.

Source:
mostbeautifulmen.com
wikipedia

PIPPA MIDDLETON CAME TO MADRID FOR A WEEKEND TRIP

Pippa Middleton, the real sensation in William and Kate's wedding, flew to Madrid last weekend to enjoy Saint Isidro's celebration. She came with several female friends and an old flame of hers, George Percy (the son of the Duke of Northumberland, one of Britain’s richest me), and she really made the most of her time in Madrid. Firstly, on Friday night they went to an exclusive local nightlife ("Fortuna").

On Saturday morning Pippa went shopping with her friends, in the afternoon all the group went  to see a bullfighting to Las Ventas, though it was cancelled because of the rain. Later they went to have dinner, consisted of paella and tapas and enjoyed a flamenco show at "Villa Rosa", probably the oldest drinking bar in Madrid, where they sang Happy Birthday to Percy and afterwards they went nightclubbing to another exclusive local called "Penthouse", to have some drinks and finally, on Sunday morning they took a relaxing boat ride at Retiro's Park (one of Madrid's largest parks) with Percy as gondolieri. Certainly Princess Catalina's sister needed this short (though very well spent) break, after the stressful Royal wedding last month.

CAYETANA DE ALBA, THE HIPPY DUCHESS AND THE CIVIL SERVANT LOVE STORY

The Duchess of Alba, the grandest grandee in Spain, is said to be able to cross the country from north to south without leaving her estates, and possess more titles than the Queen of England and of highter rank.

The duchess of Alba is very popular in Spain and very well known abroad, where even she was in the best dressed Vanity Fair last year.

Though it seems international press is starting to name her as "the rocker duchess", I do prefer to name her as the hippy duchess, because she has been always a very free woman, very determined to do her own, following the live and let live hippy motto, because she has always dressed in her own hippy style and because she has always liked to spend holidays in Ibiza (the hippy paradise in Spain).

Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva was born at the Palace of Liria on March 28th, 1926, in Madrid. The palace houses Francisco de Goya's full-length portrait of Cayetana's ancestor, The Duchess of Alba, reputed to have been his lover and model for his masterworks, The Clothed Maja and The Naked Maja.

A dazzling beauty in her youth, possessor of 44 noble titles and 150 hereditary ones, in fact according to Guinness World Records, she has more titles recognized by an existing government than any other noble. The duchess is renowned for her forthright character, forged during a high-rolling spell in England in the Second World War where her father, the 17th Duke, was Spanish ambassador in London.

In 1947 she married Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artacoz, son of the Dukes of Sotomayor, in "the most expensive wedding in the world", according to the press on that date. The couple lived mostly in the ancestral Las Dueñas palace in Seville, and had six children. She is said to have enjoyed a lively love life. The father of her fourth son, Fernando, is widely reported not to have been her husband but the Sevillian flamenco dancer Antonio el Bailarin ("the dancer").

After her husband's death in 1972, the duchess controversially married the free-thinking former Jesuit priest Jesus Aguirre y Ortiz de Zarate, in 1978. On his death in 2001, the title and property reverted to Cayetana. Dedicated Alba-watchers say her six children are split over their mother's marriage plans.

But despite wealth and her bluest of blue blood, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, 84, is being denied her heart's desire after her children scotched her plans to marry a civil servant 24 years her junior, Alfonso Diez, who says when he is interviewed that he has been in love with the duchess since thirty years ago. "They don't want me to marry, but they change partners more often than I do," the duchess complain about her six children, all of whom made high-profile marriages that ended in divorce. She admits to furious rows with her children over her marriage plans.

Her sons Carlos, Alfonso and Cayetano, are said to oppose the match, while Jacobo, Fernando and Eugenia want their mother to do what makes her happy. At present, Carlos, her eldest son, stands to inherit everything. He has progressively assumed responsibility for the family holdings since Aguirre's death. That may change if she marries again.

The House of Alba fears for the safety of a sumptuous patrimony should the twice-widowed duchess marry a third time. The duchess is mistress of a fabulous collection of estates, palaces and artworks, including portraits by Goya of an illustrious antecedent said to have been the artist's lover.

With her piping, querulous voice and eye-popping outfits, the duchess is constantly in the public eye at society weddings and bullfights featuring her ex-son-in-law Francisco ("Fran") Rivera Ordóñez, a popular torero (bullfighter) from a distinguished bullfighting family.

Some gossip columnists hint that Mr Diez is little more than a carpet- bagger battening upon a frail old woman estranged from her children. Others say it's bit much if Spain's top aristocrat can't choose her own partner for her twilight years.

The fact is that Cayetana de Alba is much more happier since she is dating Alfonso Diez, her health is better and she travels a lot with his boyfriend. But will she finally do her will in this matter and get married to the civil servant? Who knows? Let’s time passes by and we all see!


Tuesday, 23 August 2011


THE DUCHESS OF ALBA TO MARRY IN OCTOBER

The Duchess of Alba will finally wed this October. The 85-year-old aristocrat has confirmed that she will tie the knot with Alfonso Diez at the start of that month.

In a statement given to news agency Europa Press, the Duchess said the wedding would be celebrated "in the strictest of intimacy" and in the presence of her children, their spouses and close family members.

"None of my friends will be attending due to lack of space and so that no-one will be offended," she explained. "With the exception of Doctor Trujillo, my surgeon." The bride's son Carlos Juan Fitz-James Stuart, the Duke of Huescar, will be giving her away.

There'll be no press present, but the couple will release a photo to mark their happy day.

"I hope the press will stop the false speculation and respect my privacy," said the Duchess of Alba.

Source: http://www.hellomagazine.com/