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There is something powerful about school shoes. They are the first sturdy form of footwear you wear for hours in the playground until they fall apart – the sides opened up, a sole peeled off beyond repair or a clasp snapped – and it’s time for a gleaming, squeaky pair in the next size up. Polished, buckled or buttoned across the instep and worn with a pair of white socks, Mary Janes retain a nostalgic charm for many.

Named after the sister of Richard F. Outcault’s early 20th- century comic character Buster Brown, Mary Janes have endured through generations, stepping in and out of fashion and taking on new forms for grown-ups. Here, Manolo Blahnik reinvents the shoe with towering stiletto heels, a tar-like patent lacquer, knife-sharp toe and grosgrain trim. Manolo’s Mary Jane, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, reminds us that childhood can be a time not of vulnerability but of strength; and looking back to those early trappings might remind us of our essential freedom and formidability.    Augustine Hammond

All shoes by Manolo Blahnik.

Photography: Charlotte Krieger / Set design: Emma Sandral