Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin is a renowned French fashion designer celebrated for his iconic high-heeled shoes featuring trademark red soles. Born in 1963 in Paris, he was influenced by the feminine environment created by his three sisters and developed a fascination for shoes at a young age, sparked by a museum visit where he saw a prohibition sign against stilettos. After working for notable fashion houses, he opened his first boutique in 1991 and introduced his signature red sole in 1993, which quickly became synonymous with luxury and elegance. Louboutin's designs are characterized by high heels and sleek aesthetics, aimed at enhancing the silhouette of women's legs.
The brand gained immense popularity without traditional advertising, relying instead on a celebrity following and word of mouth. Louboutin has expanded his offerings to include men's shoes and cosmetic products, while maintaining a commitment to high-quality materials that contribute to the high price range of his products. His influence in the fashion industry is further solidified through collaborations with various designers and his response to counterfeit products, including trademarking his red sole. As of 2024, Louboutin is recognized as a billionaire, with his company valued highly in the luxury market.
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Subject Terms
Christian Louboutin
Fashion designer
- Born: January 7, 1963
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Paris, France
Significance: Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer known primarily for his shoe designs. His trademarked red-soled high heels are revered worldwide. Throughout the years, Louboutin released other products such as cosmetics and men’s footwear, but his stilettos continue to dominate the brand.
Background
Christian Louboutin was born in 1963 in Paris, France, the youngest child of Roger and Irène Louboutin. He grew up with feminine influence from his three sisters; this would later inspire his designs. At a young age, Louboutin noticed that his skin was darker than that of the rest of his family. He thought he might have been adopted and confronted his mother, who said the family had an African slave in its bloodline. This did not keep the young Louboutin from creating a story of origin for himself. He dreamed he was from Egypt and descended from a line of pharaohs.
Louboutin was very social from a young age and convinced his parents to let him move in with a friend when he was twelve years old. Despite this, he had a good relationship with his parents. One day when he was visiting a museum, Louboutin noticed a sign with a line through a woman’s stiletto. It indicated that high-heeled shoes were not permitted to be worn in the museum to protect the floors. The image of the shoe intrigued Louboutin and stuck in his mind. He began to sketch shoe designs.
Later, as a teen, he discovered the Parisian nightlife and attended nightclubs. He also visited theaters and music halls and became enamored by the showgirls. The dancers and the image of the stiletto inspired him to create shoes. He eventually dropped out of school and got a job selling shoes at a cabaret.
Life’s Work
Louboutin’s designs received notice, and by 1982, he was working for shoe designer Charles Jourdan. Louboutin then freelanced at several fashion houses such as Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Maud Frizon. However, he was soon bored and decided to pursue another passion: landscaping. During this time, he also wrote for Vogue Paris, but he began to miss designing shoes.
Louboutin opened his first shoe boutique in 1991 in Paris. The shop did incredibly well its first season in business, but because of manufacturing and delivery timetables, the designer missed out on the second season.
In 1993, Louboutin created what would become his signature style: red soles. He was working on a design based on Andy Warhol’s Flowers. He designed a pink heel with a cartoonish cloth blossom but felt it was missing something. His assistant was painting her nails, and this caught Louboutin’s attention. He decided to paint the sole of the shoe with the red nail polish, and the Louboutin red sole was born.
The shoes became instantly recognizable and the epitome of style and class. All of Louboutin’s stilettos feature very high heels and sleek styles to elongate a woman’s legs and make her look sexy. The shoes are made from the finest materials as not to sacrifice quality. Because of this, Louboutin’s shoes are expensive, ranging from four hundred to six thousand dollars. He also custom makes shoes for about four thousand dollars a pair. Throughout the years, his styles caught the attention of numerous celebrities, such as Kate Moss, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Victoria Beckham, and Jennifer Lopez. Louboutin has said he never had to advertise, and his popularity came from word of mouth.
Louboutin collaborated with many famous designers throughout the years, including Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander McQueen, and Jean Paul Gaultier. In 2002, he partnered with Yves Saint Laurent to design a shoe for a fashion show. The following year, Louboutin branched out of shoe design and launched a purse collection. He partnered with director David Lynch on a photograph exhibit featuring nude women wearing Louboutins in 2007.
Because of the occurrence of fake and knock-off Louboutins, the shoe designer decided to trademark his red sole in 2007. He also launched the website Stopfakechristianlouboutin.com. The company was involved in a lawsuit with Yves Saint Laurent over the company using a red sole in 2012; however, the court ruled that Louboutin’s trademark can only protect shoes of a color that contrasts to red. (The shoes in the Yves Saint Laurent dispute were completely red.)
In 2009, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese requested that Louboutin create shoes for shows at the Crazy Horse cabaret club in Paris. This relationship with Von Teese continued throughout the next few years. The year 2011 marked Louboutin’s twentieth anniversary, and his first men’s footwear store opened in Paris that year. Louboutin branched out into other products. In 2014, he debuted a nail polish collection that featured the famous red shade from his shoes; a lipstick line followed the next year. In 2019, the Couture Council of the Museum at the Franklin Institute of Technology granted Louboutin the Coutre Council Award for Artistry of Fashion. In 2020, the artist held an exhibition in Paris celebrating his company's thirtieth anniversary. The following year, a 24 percent stake of Louboutin's company was sold to Extor for $650 million. As of 2024, Louboutin owned 35 percent of his company, a share that Forbes magazine valued at $1.1 billion, making the shoe designer a billionaire.
Impact
Louboutin is a high-end shoe designer who will not compromise on quality, resulting in his refusal to design lower priced items. He also has refused to change the color of the brand’s sole; it has remained the same shade throughout the years to identify the shoes. Because of this, Louboutin shoes have become synonymous with luxury and style. The brand does not need to advertise and continues to attract a loyal following.
Personal Life
Louboutin has had a longtime relationship with landscape designer Louis Benech. Louboutin has said that he always felt like he was not a part of his family, mostly due to his darker skin color and his strained relationship with his father. Deep down, he connected with Egypt and became very interested in its culture. He traveled there extensively throughout the years. In 2014, it was revealed that Louboutin was the product of an affair that his mother had with an Egyptian man.
Bibliography
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"Christian Louboutin." Hello! Hello!, n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
"Christian Louboutin." Vogue Paris. Condé Nast Digital Ltd., 24 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 May 2016.
Collins, Lauren. "Sole Mate: Christian Louboutin and the Psychology of Shoes." New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital Ltd., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 May 2016.
Socha, Miles. "Christian Louboutin Sells 24% Stake to Agnelli Family Holding." WWD, 8 Mar. 2021, wwd.com/feature/christian-louboutin-exor-ferrari-acquisition-1234770870/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Socha, Miles and Pete Born. "Christian Louboutin Enters the Beauty Arena with Nail Polish." Women’s Wear Daily. Fairchild Publishing, LLC, 23 July 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
Sowray, Bibby. "11 Things We Learned from Christian Louboutin: The World’s Most Luxurious Shoes." Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited, 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 May 2016.
Tognini, Giacomo. "Shoe Designer Christian Louboutin Is Now a Billionaire." Forbes, 19 Apr. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2024/04/01/christian-louboutin-net-worth-billionaire-shoe-designer/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.