Manolo Blahnik International Limited was established in 1970 when the first boutique was acquired in Chelsea, London. Now a globally recognized brand, its headquarters remain in London with offices and partners around the world. Mr. Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the Canary Islands, to a Czech father and Spanish mother. His father left Prague in the 1930s to avoid rising fascism; his grandparents disappeared in the 1950s after the Communists took charge.