Balenciaga is partnering with Manolo Blahnik for the first time, uniting two names rooted in mutual admiration. Featured in the Fall 2026 Collection, Body and Being, the collaboration brings together a shared vision of craftsmanship, elegance, and Spanish heritage that ties back to Cristóbal Balenciaga himself. For Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who has long admired Blahnik’s five decades of shoemaking mastery, the collaboration was as natural as it was personal.

“This collaboration came to life for very personal reasons. I simply like Manolo. That’s it. I know him personally and have admired him for a long time. To me, Manolo Blahnik is synonymous with elegance and as he’s Spanish, like Cristóbal Balenciaga — there’s a certain shared sensibility there,” stated Piccioli.

The collection comprises a low-heeled mule and a slingback in either a 50mm or 105mm heel. Crafted in silk satin, the shoes are presented in a range of colors and finished with Balenciaga’s signature grey lining. Each vamp drops low in décolleté style, baring the foot of the coveted yet scandalous “toe cleavage.” Crystal leaves, embroidered by hand in an off-balance pattern, adorn the shoe and spill across the cut-out.

The individual styles establish a direct dialogue by drawing inspiration from historical archival Manolo Blahnik designs. Piccioli personally selected these specific archival shapes for the collection. The asymmetrical crystal leaf ornaments hand-embroidered across the vamp echo archival 1960s Balenciaga bijoux, creating a conversation between the two houses’ storied legacies.

Launching May 19th and available in black, gris plume, grass, lime, or violet silk-satin, the Balenciaga | Manolo Blahnik collection is available in select Balenciaga stores worldwide and on balenciaga.com, arriving in specially co-branded packaging complete with dustbags, a shoebox, and tissue liner. Consider it a meeting of kindred spirits—wrapped in silk satin and delivered in co-branded packaging.