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Fashion

by Dara Morgan

Pump Fiction: Manolo Blahnik Hangisi — Carrie Bradshaw’s Forever Shoe

23 Sept 2025

Some shoes become famous because of who designed them. Others because of who wore them. The Manolo Blahnik Hangisi managed both — and cemented its place in pop culture thanks to one fictional New Yorker with a shoe habit and a rent problem: Carrie Bradshaw.

Episode 2 of Pump Fiction takes us from Manolo’s Canary Islands childhood to the moment Mr. Big got down on one knee with a Hangisi instead of a diamond ring. Along the way, we explore how a single pair of satin pumps became shorthand for romance, obsession, and questionable financial decisions.

Here are three things you probably did not know about the Manolo Blahnik Hangisi — unless you have been hoarding them since 2008:

  • Its name means “Which one?” in Turkish. Fittingly ironic, since once you see them, the only question is which credit card will pay.
  • It was inspired by 19th-century portraits. Giovanni Boldini’s society women — plus a dash of Marlene Dietrich — shaped the satin, almond toe, and sparkling buckle.
  • It nearly outgrew its creator. Brides, royals, and Hollywood made it iconic, while Manolo himself called the Hangisi “a horror story” that refused to end.

Listen now

Come for Carrie’s proposal shoe, stay for the story of a shoemaker who accidentally created a global bridal cult.

Missed previous episode? Here you go: