History of Christian Louboutin Part Two
June 18, 2010 by Arash Mazinani
Filed under All Content, Brands, Ladies
Christian landed a job with Charles Jourdan, the legendary shoe designer, while working under Jourdan he met Roger Vivier. Vivier was also a well known shoe designer who had collaborated with house’s like Dior in the 1950s. Vivier was said to have invented the famous ‘spike’ or stiletto that had once intrigued a young Louboutin on the pictograph he had seen in the museum. Named after a slim knife a stiletto heel was a high shoe with the slim tapered heel. Roger Vivier liked Louboutin’s work and offered him an apprenticeship.
During the 1980s Louboutin was a freelance shoe designer, during this time he created pieces for Chanel and Yves saint Lauren.
He launched his own company in November 1991 with a boutique in Paris under his own name. Princess Caroline of Monaco was one of his first famous customers, the day the princess entered the store there was also a fashion journalist, the press that followed instantly raised Louboutin’s profile. From the press that generated Diane Von Furstenburg and Catherine Deneuve become regular clients.
In 1992 Louboutin incorporated the iconic red sole. This came about by accident, Louboutin was looking at a prototype but felt it lacked ‘energy’ and that it had something missing. At the time he had an assistant with him that was painting her nails. He grabbed the nail polish and painted the sole and the rest as they say is history!
Christian grabbed the attention of fashion lovers outside of Paris with his “inseparables”, this is a term applied to a single design or word that runs from one shoe to the other. His “LO” “VE” shoes became highly coveted during the early 1990s on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1993 he opened a store in New York City, then due to demand from his Russian Clients a store in Moscow in 2002. In autumn 2003 Louboutin launched his first handbag collection.
www.net-a-porter.com
His brand is now a world wide success with stars such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Sarah Jessica Parker all helping keep Christian Louboutin’s designs as some of the most sought after in fashion.
If you missed part one of The History of Christian Louboutin.
