CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

Louboutin was born in Paris. Although Louboutin faced much opposition following his decision to leave school early, he claims that his resolve was strengthened after watching an interview on TV with Sophia Loren in which she introduced her sister, saying she had to leave school when she was only 12, but, when she turned 50, she got her degree. “Everybody applauded! And I thought, ‘Well, at least if I regret it I’m going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!’”

He began sketching shoes in his early teens, ignoring his academic studies. In fact, he was expelled from four schools. Going through a punk} phase, he was in a few films, including 1979 cult classic Race d’ep. Under the title The Homosexual Century, the film attracted an English-language audience.

His little formal training included drawing and the decorative arts at the Académie d’Art Roederer. Fascinated by world cultures, he ran away in his teens to Egypt and spent a year in India. Louboutin returned to Paris in 1981, where he assembled a portfolio of drawings of elaborate high heels. He brought it to the top couture houses. The effort resulted in employment with Charles Jourdan. Subsequently, Louboutin met Roger Vivier. (Claims about Vivier is that he invented the stiletto [or spike]-heel shoe.) Louboutin thus became an apprentice in Vivier’s atelier.

Going on to serve as a freelance designer, Louboutin designed women’s shoes for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Maude Frizon.

With funds from two backers, he opened a Paris shoe salon in 1991 with Princess Caroline of Monaco as his first customer. Her compliments in the store one day when a fashion journalist was present. The journalist subsequently published the Princess’s comment helped greatly to increase Louboutin’s renown. Clients such as Diane Von Furstenburg and Catherine Deneuve followed. Later ones interested in his stiletto heels have included Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a pair of shoes by Louboutin for her wedding.

Louboutin and his partner Benech spend time in their Luxor, Egypt, vacation home, which has been featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines. Louboutin claims that his unusual pastimes include trapeze flying, inspired by the film Wings of Desire, and that inspirations come from showgirls and music halls—not fashion (or la mode), which he asserts becomes quickly dated.

Louboutin helped bring stilettos back into fashion in the 1990s and 2000s, designing dozens of styles with heel heights of 120mm (4.72 inches) and higher. The designer’s professed goal is to “make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as [he] can.”

Courtesy: Wikipedia