Those Iconic Red-Soled Shoes

He was only 12 years old when, at home in Paris, where he lived with his mother and three sisters, Christian Louboutin started designing women’s shoes, as he was intrigued by the female universe and by the power of a pair of stilettos. But the real life-changing moment was when he started working as an intern at Folies Bergères: observing the legs of the dancers, he realized that shoes can change the way a woman walks and moves. So he called Hélène de Mortemart, Christian Dior’s Fashion Director, to show her his sketches, and she helped him find an internship. «The smell of glue was enough to make me understand that this was my greatest passion» he loves to say. Then he worked few months with celebrated designer Roger Vivier, where he learned how to create a magical symbiosis between design and craftsmanship. He was now ready to step onto the big stage.

When Christian Louboutin opened his first boutique, he was less than 30 years old, and it quickly became a reference, thanks to Caroline de Monaco who was one of his early clients. But there was still something missing. He found it by chance: while he was working on a new collection inspired by Pop Art, he noticed the red lacquer color on his assistant’s nails. The rest is history: he asked her to lend him her nail polish and used it to paint the entire sole. His first “signature” mark was born. That extra edge that turns his shoes into a highly recognizable object of desire, into the symbol of a strong and independent woman who, walking in her stilettos, leaves her indelible red mark on the streets. Today, Louboutin shoes are cult objects exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  His most celebrated creations include the Kate and So Kate stilettos designed in honor of his dear friend Kate Moss, and the made-to-measure pieces designed for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” and for Beyoncé’s album “Renaissance”.

Over his long career, Christian Louboutin has never lost his curiosity and joie de vivre, travelling all over the world and working with artisans from countries such as Bhutan, Senegal and Mexico, as well as with artists, singers and, above all, celebrated designers. He designed shoes for the shows of some of the biggest names in fashion, like Jean Paul Gautier, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, combining his unparalleled artisanal skills with a clear aesthetic vision. That’s the key to his success, the reason why “Louboutin shoes” are seen strutting down red carpets worldwide, worn by international celebrities.  Not only women, however, as, since 2009, there is also a men’s line and, lately, a kid’s one. These new projects speak the same language, adding on to the leather goods and accessories collections and the recently launched beauty line that, needless to say, also includes a nail polish. Obviously red.