Nearly every designer under the sun (or at least that's how it feels) has teamed up with a mass-market brand. But there are those rare designers who haven't yet ventured into collaboration land -- and have vowed never to do so.
We had kept our hopes up that Manolo Blahnik would not fall into that category. In an interview with Fashionista last May, the famous shoe designer said, "I've been asked [to collaborate with a mass retailer] and I've always been too busy, but you never know, I would, maybe."
But in a recent conversation with the Wall Street Journal, Blahnik revealed:
"I recently turned down a lot of money to create a mass-market type product. I don't want to make that sort of money if I am polluting my brand."
Unfortunately, he left out the tiny detail of who offered him a collaboration. Target? H&M? J. C. Penney? Macy's?
Whoever offered the deal, it looks like they won't be bringing us cheap Manolos the same way we got our Jimmy Choos at H&M. Blahnik prefers to work with sophisticated clients who won't dilute his reputation, like Kates Moss and Middleton (and Bella Swann, for that matter).
So we're guessing he wasn't too pleased when Colombian drug dealers took a liking to his heels?