In our latest podcast, Katie chats to the brilliant Kristina Blahnik, niece of Manolo Blahnik, whose name is synonymous with women’s luxury shoes. Kristina is CEO of the Blahnik family brand and shares her thoughts on running a family business, and how to lead and manage a thriving company in the 21st century. She is also guest judge for the Cordwainers Footwear Awards 2025. 

Listen as Kristina talks about childhood memories and traces her journey to becoming head of the business today.

She and Katie discuss Kristina’s roots in architecture and how that rigorous training translates into footwear - structure, materiality and form. Kristina gives insights into the challenges and responsibility of being the second generation in the family business and her drive to think strategically - beyond her lifetime - to document and preserve what has gone before with unique design archives.  She sets out her purpose, vision, values, culture and creativity for the future.

Hear the importance of making people smile and enjoying what you do as a driving force in business. Katie and Kristina delve into Manolo’s design process and the art of storytelling, design over commerciality. Kristina argues that you must remain true to yourself and design for longevity, and not purely for trends or commerciality.

They discuss the need to harness the skills of those around you, the tricky nature of ankle straps and an increasing awareness of the men's collection. They debate the exciting challenges of today’s modern era where, as a society, we are redefining all the rules and real fluidity exists between men's, women's and unisex collections.

Tackling the issue of AI and its impact, Kristina believes that we need to be careful not to undermine the artisan and the craft. Allowing technology to take too much ownership of the shoe design and manufacture is dangerous for us, for our existence, and for what we stand for.