If you are in Paris between now and 26th July 2020 an exhibition that must be on your list to go see is the Christian Louboutin, a major display of the work of this most iconic shoe designer. The exhibition showcases his work and influences from his early years until now.
Born on the 7th January 1963 in the 12th arrondissement to the East side of Paris he had a difficult child hood, expelled from school 3 times. He moved from his home at the age of 12 to live with a relative. By living near the Palais de la Porte Doree it became a refuge to wander its halls and breathe in all the artifacts. Here he noticed a sign banning women from wearing high heels in the museum to protect the floors, an image that stayed with him. It is very fitting that this is the place chosen to stage this extravaganza.
One of his first jobs was as an assistant at the famous cabaret show the Folies Bergère where he worked back stage. He became a well known fixture on the Paris party scene at the go-to night club at the time, Le Palace. Here he often met up with the likes of Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol.
Louboutin had first started drawing and being fascinated by women shoes around 1976 . Then in the 80’s he started working for Roger Vivier who it is claimed invented the stiletto or spiked heel ladies shoe. He also freelanced for many fashion houses including Charles Jourdan, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel.
During these years he designed a flower decorated shoe for Princess Caroline of Monaco’s wedding and a fish scale encrusted shoe, The Maquereau, which he photographed in the tropical aquarium ay the Palais de la Port Doree in 1987.
He still has many celebrity clients such as Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Tina Turner, Britney Spears and Miss Piggy to name a few. He is surely the go to rock star shoe designer. It is however Sex In The City’s Carrie Bradshaw that brought him to the attention of so many gay men.
He started his own label brand in 1991 and then the famous red soled shoe in 1993. Frustrated by the lack of oomph with some production samples in the work room, he observed an assistant painting her nails. Loving the color red she was using he painted the soles of a pair of shoes with the red nail polish and the rest is history. The red color chosen is Pantone 18 – 1663 TPX. By 2012 he had sold 700,00 pairs. They now have their own place in Pop culture history.
The exhibition is large and separated into named rooms. The “Masterpieces” shows examples of his craftsmanship and various inspirational objects from a Madame Gres dress to an African sculpture. “Early Years” is a room filled with commissioned stained glass windows representing his creations before forming his own company in 1991 including the daisy flower shoe inspired by Andy Warhol’s flowers. “Musee Imaginaire” contains objects from his journey into his world of objets d’art, showing sources forming a part of fashion history. “Dans L’Atelier” explains the working of the shoe construction with short films on shoe making. “Suggestions & Projections” a room which at first glance resembles a granny sitting room but has many hidden symbols which find their way into the shoes such as studs, amour and different leather combinations.
In 2007 Louboutin collaborated with visionary artist David Lynch to photograph a range of shoes that could not be walked in. They were photographed on naked dancers with fuller figures captured in time by these impossible high heels. Another range of shoes which have now become world famous are the nude shoes of which there are 4 pairs in the archive at the V@A Museum in London. Louboutin was very fascinated by skin colour and produced a collection of shoes in 7 shades of skin colour from light to dark. There is a stunning example of these in the show represented by leather skinned mannequins.
Louboutin lives with his partner, a landscape gardener Louis Benech, in the 1st arrondissement since 1997 and can often be seen whizzing around the city on his Vespa.. They also share houses in Luxor, 3 properties in Portugal and a house boat on the Nile.
The company has grown from 1991, the red soled shoe introduced in 1993, the introduction of handbags in 2003 and a mens line in 2011. Since then Louboutin has introduced his own range of nail polish, lipsticks and fragrances.
A stunning exhibition dedicated to a designer and his world famous namesake brand.
Christian Louboutin : L'Exhibition[nist] 26 February to 26 July 2020 https://www.palais-portedoree.fr/en/christian-louboutin-exhibition
GRAHAM FRASER Queerguru’s Culture, Fashion and Arts Correspondent was once half of the award winning fashion designer duo WORKERS FOR FREEDOM. Years spent working in the luxury end of International fashion he now lives with his partner the artist RICHARD NOTT and their two Cavapoos Albert and Raf in a stunning renovated 1950’s house on the edge of the Sussex Downs with distant sea views.
