Manolo Blahnik became a household name when the film Sex and the City made his sexy stilettos practically a member of the cast. But before Carrie Bradshaw started giving him shout-outs, the shoe guru already was a star to the well-heeled women who wear and collect his designs—including Madonna, Bianca Jagger and Diane von Furstenberg.

Last week, Hollywood thanked the designer for his contributions to the entertainment and fashion industries by awarding him the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award. Known for his whimsical, colour-drenched takes on the classic stiletto (priced from $525 to $2,685), Blahnik sparked the current craze for designer shoes with artisan pedigrees.

The designer, who’s fond of wearing bow ties and Saville Row suits, had the Design Museum in London stage a major exhibition of his work, Blahnik, 65, dipped his well-shod foot into film when he crafted the ornate, flare-heeled shoes for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, which won an Oscar for best costume design.

Excerpts from an interview:

•You have on amazing shoes (Creamsicle-orange loafers with matching ribbons tacked to the fronts). Who made them?

My factory made these with my own lasts. I was going to do a combination of colours, but it would be like an eccentric person in a madhouse or something. I was going to wear one violet and one orange, which is very matador.

•How do you feel about getting a star on Rodeo Drive?

It’s beyond meaningful. Can you imagine? We’re going to do it on Rodeo Drive, and that land belonged to Greta Garbo, one of the great movie actresses that I’ve adored forever. I love it.

... contd.