That is the news: Blahnik have launched a repair service in partnership with The Restory, a specialized hub. Such is the goal: to extend, as much as possible, the life duration of a pair of their iconic shoes. Just a remark: from a general standpoint, how much is this decision going to upgrade a work attitude towards sustainable consuming, which considers durability as one of its primary cornerstones?
It is an easy slogan: a Manolo is forever. Even though a heel gets broken, the shoe upper gets torn and scratched, or the insole needs repairing because of a problem, they can provide a solution. Customers do not have to seek help from a shoemaker of (utmost) trust. They just need to get access to Blahnik website and request the Mend My Manolos service.
In other words, all they are supposed to do is to leave the mending of their shoes with the fashion brand. And to have their manufacture settings repaired (please allow us to take the smartphone specific language and apply it to footwear). Such marketing strategy aims at achieving full customer loyalty and, on top of that, inspires some consideration on one of the essential sustainability-related concepts, which is completely opposed to fast fashion attitude: durability.
Blahnik partners with The Restory
Mend your Blahnik. On Monday, 6 September 2021, the footwear brand launched an aftercare project in partnership with The Restory, an after-sales support and assistance company. In practice, customers who hold a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes will have the opportunity to benefit from such repair service. It can be tailored as well, provided by The Restory skilled artisans.
The “package” includes both a few standard services (such as resoling and heel restoration, among others) and some extra ones. For example, colour restoration. The aim is to extend, as much as possible, shoe durability, so much so that one can almost say, precisely, that “a Manolo is forever”.
How it works
The Restory has given online directions on how to request the service. Customers are supposed to book a pickup while specifying which services they are demanding for. As soon as shoes are being delivered, the London laboratory will email a quotation: clients will either confirm or modify it at the time of acceptance. The Restory will subsequently send back the shoes they have repaired and “restored”. The service, which is running online, is also available at Manolo Blahnik selling stores, in their 3 boutiques in the United Kingdom.
A Manolo is forever
“We have successfully carried out some awesome and timeless investments – commented Chief Executive Officer Kristina Blahnik while speaking to Fashion United –, which we must save forever: this is what we strive to create when we make a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes”. As regards The Restory, instead, this is their first partnership deal with a brand following the ones they previously signed with Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Harrods e Farfetch luxury retailers.
Such agreement is going to strengthen the business strategy that applies to aftercare, a global market which is already worth, supposedly, over 200 billion dollars. According to The Restory, this activity has been turning from something useful into a lifestyle experience. Moreover, it has enabled the company to enhance their customer service by setting in motion sustainable strategies. It resembles, to some extent, the more fashionable “handbag clinics”, which repair or, even better, “restore” the fashion brands’ it-bags as if they were real pieces of art. Well, without the shadow of a doubt, this “is luxury”.
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