Christian Louboutin: women don’t wear high heels to please men
Christian Louboutin wants to make something very clear: He loves women.
“My first inspiration is women, I will probably always remain the same,” he says, reclining on a velvet sofa in his new Sydney boutique, his fourth in Australia (there are two boutiques in Melbourne, one on the Gold Coast, as well as concessions in some David Jones stores).
So it perplexes – and even offends – the world’s most famous shoe designer that discussions about the growing popularity of sneakers over high heels have centred around the latter as symbols of the “male gaze”, and their dip in sales as a symptom of the #MeToo movement.
“I was quite offended by the fact anybody would think a woman would be stupid enough and not decide for herself and … not have her own point of view. I keep on thinking it’s a very old mentality to think that. Women are in charge [of their lives] in most democratic countries and they decide for themselves, from a very early age.”
For more than 26 years, Louboutin says he has witnessed the positive effect a great pair of shoes can have on a woman.
“A woman puts a pair of shoes on. She goes straight in front of the mirror. She looks at herself, she looks at her body, she turns her back, she looks at her arse, then she turns again, and if she likes herself, she’s considering the shoe. She’s not looking at the shoe wondering if it will be attractive for men.”
Putting aside the politics of high heels, Louboutin agrees there have been lifestyle and cultural shifts that are seeing more women (and men) embracing a wide variety of shoes for a wider variety of occasions.
“It’s not a new way to dress but a trendy way to be,” says Louboutin, who’s wearing a crisp polo shirt, teal jacket, jeans and red tasselled loafers (and yes, he wears socks).
“When I started [my business], women were only dressed in black and wearing boots. I have always done boots and flats but it hasn’t been my focus. People think of me more as a high-heel person, so they would have to make a bit more effort to see a part of the collection that is there that they haven’t been thinking of.”
Not only do people know Louboutin, who’s in his mid-50s, for his heels but their signature red soles, which are protected trademarks in some regions but disputed in others.
So when actress Kristen Stewart removed her shoes at Cannes last month in protest against the film festival’s strict (and some say sexist) dress code, it was clear she was wearing Louboutins. But the designer wasn’t the least bit fazed, saying the Cannes organisers “love a polemic”.
“Do not forget [Stewart] is an actress, a fantastic actress and a smart girl. She has been wearing my shoes for a long time … I’ve never been on my knees begging her to wear high heels. I don’t think anyone has obligated her to wear high heels. She could be in flat shoes [if she wanted], so it’s a whole ball game there.”
Of all people, Louboutin, understands the power of celebrity. His recent commissions include Beyonce’s silver-fringed boots for her history-making performance at Coachella and Blake Lively’s jewelled Met Gala sandals (Louboutin attended the event as the actress’ date). Other high-profile fans include Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham. Even the duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex are fans (Beckham famously gifted Kate a pair of Louboutin boots in 2014).
And since launching men’s shoes in 2009, his fans have included the singer Mika, who Louboutin credits for his decision to branch out into men’s, and famous athletes.
Louboutin says one of the biggest changes in the fashion industry since he started is the relative influence of fashion editorials versus celebrity endorsement.
“People are responding more to real people in a way [than models], this is why the celebrity thing is ‘non-anonymous’ … it’s almost like a semi-god.”
Born in Paris, Louboutin got his first break designing shoes for Paris showgirls. He recalls at 18 taking the phone directory and calling the design houses from A to Z: Balmain was first, then Christian Dior. He boldly asked for the head of couture and, to his surprise, was connected.
“Now if you call and you don’t know anyone, there is no way you would speak to anybody. You would wait for five hours. If I had to do that again, I wouldn’t go far. But now you have different ways to expose yourself to people and grab their attention.”
Louboutin worked for Charles Jourdan and Roger Vivier before setting up his own company, beginning with a Paris boutique, in 1991. Amid economic uncertainty after the first Gulf War, people told him he was crazy.
“I remember the opening was the 21st of November. On the night of the 20th, I was still painting the store, the cubes for the shoes. There was a big smell of paint the day of the opening.”
Fast-forward nearly 27 years and Louboutin, one of a dwindling number of independently-owned luxury brands, remains very hands-on in every part of his business, from shoe design to shop fit-outs and his beauty range, which launched in 2014.
“For me, remaining free is the most important thing. And showing you can remain free … It’s more work and sometimes it’s difficult being independent because people try to crush you but it’s worth it.”
In describing his design process, Louboutin likens himself more to a jeweller than a couturier, with his stores being like jewellery boxes.
“A jewellery designer may have the inferences everyone has but it’s not so punctuated by the summer or winter … I think of myself the same way, when I design I may think of some shoes of the season but I concentrate on more perennial things.”
He tends to design the winter collections at the end of summer in Portugal, or in the French countryside, where his business partner and lifelong friend, Bruno Chambelland, has a house. For the summer collection, Louboutin tends to travel to Egypt or Brazil, to feel the heat.
“One rule I have is I isolate myself. I need time and I need to be slightly isolated. I can’t do it in my office in Paris. I go to a place … where there is no phone but also a place I know because if it’s a place I don’t know I would sneak out and check what’s around.”
But he says memory and feeling are more important in his designs than geographical places.
“I may think the gold [on a particular shoe] should be like an Egyptian sequin but it’s because of something already in my head and not something I have seen the week before.”
So, after three decades spent designing footwear, does Louboutin believe in the “perfect shoe”?
He is reluctant to pigeonhole women but “if there is an ideal shoe, it’s more of a concept. It could be different for different people. But if it had to be one, it would have two qualities: the ability to appear, and to disappear, it should be like a ‘magic’ shoe. So probably the colour of the woman’s skin and if you look closer, it’s a beautifully designed shoe.”
While it’s hard to gauge the value of the business – Louboutin will not discuss financials, other than to say they sell more than 800,000 units a year – a 2011 article in Elle estimated annual revenue at $US250 million ($331 million). But he maintains that money has never been his main driver.
“Women are not stupid. They see a difference between a brand charged by emotion, by someone living. They make a difference between that and a brand that is a bunch of people [working] to make money. Success is a nice thing but it’s never been my first call. And I think people see that.”