THE ART OF THE SHOE
Christian Louboutin's Stylish New Exhibit + Book
To the red-sole devotees, a pair of “Louboutins” needs no clarification. A-list celebrities like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are elevated on the red carpet rocking the red-bottom shoes. J-Lo released an entire song about them and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was laid to rest in a pair of 5-inch “Louboutins.”
Christian Louboutin, best known for designing high-end stilettos with soles painted shiny lipstick red, is honored with a retrospective in Paris at Palais de la Porte Dorée-CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN: L’EXHIBITION(NISTE). “This exhibition showcases the precious relationships that have marked my journey, through working with craftsmen who possess unique expertise as well as collaborations with artists who are dear to me,” said Louboutin in a statement. The fashion event retraces the shoe aficionado’s career through a series of 11 chapters, from his youth through his myriad of encounters, far beyond the red sole.
It has been a 30-year creative journey for Louboutin, which started in 1976 when he visited the Palais de la Porte Dorée. It was there he noticed a sign forbidding high-heeled shoes for fear of damaging the wood floors. The image of a shoe with a red line through it intrigued him. Louboutin said he wanted to “defy that” and “wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered.” This sign subsequently inspired the iconic Pigalle pump, which is now synonymous with the Hermès Birkin bag and Chanel’s little black dress.
In his early years, he worked for notable Parisian design houses like Christian Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and shoe designer Roger Vivier. Louboutin opened his own Paris shoe salon in 1991 with Princess Caroline of Monaco as his first customer. Call it serendipity, two weeks after the opening an American journalist for W Magazine was in town scouting new Parisian spots. She saw the Princess, who was enthralled by the young designer’s shoes. Her article for W put Louboutin on the map and the rest, as they say, is history.
Along with the Paris exhibition, a new book by Eric Reinhardt titled Christian Louboutin The Exhibition(ist) (Rizzoli) will be released later this month. It’s a comprehensive look into the designer’s inspirations and collaborations with such notables as architect Oscar Neimeyer, artist Andy Warhol, music legend Tina Turner, designer Bob Mackie and others. Reinhardt’s interviews with Louboutin are reflective, insightful and candid. “The shoes I’m most proud of are the ones that are capable of appearing, of being visible, but also of disappearing,” said Louboutin. “A successful shoe accentuates nudity. A woman should be able to remain completely naked when wearing shoes.”
It is undeniable the shoe maestro has cast a “red-sole spell” writes Reinhardt in the book’s introduction. “Who could deny that at one time or another, in the minds of an incalculable number of women, whatever their social sphere, he has brought about an irrepressible, inexplicable, insidious desire to treat themselves to or be given a pair of Louboutin shoes.”
Christian Louboutin The Exhibition(ist) (Rizzoli) available on March 31, 2020.
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN: L’EXHIBITION(NISTE) through July 26, 2020 at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris.
