Image: Getty Images
The 76-year-old shoe designer - who launched his eponymous designer label in the late 1970s - has created legendary footwear over his long-spanning career, including those which have famously graced the soles of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex throughout her pregnancy and Sarah Jessica Parker in her ' Sex And The City' modern Cinderella storyline.
And now Manolo has revealed that he has "never" seen a shoe that truly compares to his because there is so much "trash around" and believes the ideal heel height is small so it allows a woman's body to "move".
He told The Times newspaper: "God, there is so much trash around, so many horrible shoes. There is a Balenciaga shoe that looks like a horse. No, not a horse, horses are too glamorous. Some kind of monstrous animal. Real horrible.
"I have seen every shoe I have done in the last 10 years. Exactly the same as mine but not mine.
"[50mm is the ideal heel] It's easy to walk and you still have movement of the body."
And the creative mastermind is hoping "gloves" make a comeback because he "loves" them on women.
Image: Getty Images He added: "I belong to another era. Another education. Another social... I don't know what you call it. I want gloves back, women with gloves. I am dying for that.
Maybe I am one of those things that is just left over but I keep fighting to preserve it."
Manolo also credits former editor-in-chief of Vogue, Diana Vreeland, for spotting his talent for designing incredible shoes early.
He continued: "I wanted to get into theatre. I don't know why because I don't like actors very much. I have friends who are actors, but they are cliquey. I had sent her all my drawings. My 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' costumes, with shoes with laces up to hear and cherries wrapping round. She said 'Do extremities young mam.' I still say it to myself."
