Design Year Book |
| Dot Boots by Manolo Blahnik & Damien Hirst Posted: 25 Sep 2011 09:51 AM PDT   When two of the world renowned artists joined force, Manolo Blahnik- a shoe designer and Damien Hirst- an artist famed for his spot painting, a 'Dot' Boots was born. Exploiting the Pop and Op evocations of Hirst's pattern of identically sized dots evenly spaced on a grid, Blahnik reprises the 1960s "go-go" boot. Coincidentally, this collaboration predated by a few months Louis Vuitton's launch of its Takashi Murakami patterned bags. "I have always been an admirer of Damien Hirst, so I jumped at the opportunity to work with his prints. I made two boots—both very simple because I wanted Mr. Hirst's work to be the main focus and not the shoes. One is this from the 'Spots' series, and the other a 'Splash.' Of the two, this is my favorite. Spots have always been a favorite theme with me, but I love the way that Hirst places them in this rigid, repetitive format. It looks very disciplined but at the same time is very playful—thanks to the fun colors that represent chemicals, giving the whole piece a dark undertone, which I find very clever." —Manolo Blahnik + MetMuseum | Polka-dot Designs |