Christian Louboutin is a giant in the designer footwear market, with his famous red bottom shoes he founded a company from nothing with an iconic design that is recognised worldwide. Throughout this post I will talk on the history of the company and how the designer used a simple idea as red bottom shoes to create an iconic design identity.
Christian Louboutin (pictured above) born in 1963 has had a lifelong desire to design shoes and most famously stiletto heels. At the age of 10 whilst visiting the Museum of African and Oceanic Art Christian noticed a sign that forbid women from wearing stilettos so as not to scratch the parquet floor, this sign turned out to inspire his life's work - designing stilettos for the modern woman. As a brother growing up with three sisters he was aware of the nuances of the female form and spent his life designing shoes to celebrate women.
At the age of 16 he began an internship with the famous Folies Bergère, where his self taught shoe making skills began to develop. From then working all the way up to opening his own store in Paris in 1991, along the way working for some of the most famous fashion designers in Paris at that time. And from 1991 the popularity of his designs grew and grew, in 1993 inspiration struck for the famous red bottom shoes from a trivial source. While mulling over a final design for a stiletto he noticed his assistant polishing her nails red and immediately took the bottle to paint the bottom of the shoes red - an icon was born.
For a quick break here I want to address the similarities between my blog name and the designers name. I have not, until deciding to right this piece, been a fan of Christian Louboutin and knew very little about the designer beside that the shoes had a red bottom. The nickname came from previous nickname Lou and then a more formal variation, Loubouton, came. Making sure to spell it incorrect so as to read like a Scottish accent would say it. It is interesting though that as a man who has no real interest in stiletto heels I was aware of the fame and love for Red Bottoms, this as well shoes the success of Christians iconic design.
Louboutin talks about inspiration coming from the unlikeliest places and events - a trip to a museum at the age of 10 or a colleague pain ting their nails just as you ponder the success of your final prototype. In his words - "It can be anything. If you keep your eyes wide open, there is inspiration everywhere you look." What I have learned from reading about Louboutin shoes is that great design isn't about a divine inspiration its about being aware of the world around you, noticing opportunities for solutions from tv, books, conversations, signs, labels, surfaces, the list goes on. Look at the red bottom Louboutin stiletto, the shape is simple, the colours are simple but it is the pop of colour that brings you in and excites. It is simple but by no means does that mean it is not great.
Since designing the iconic louboutin pump the brand has moved into flat footwear as well as sneakers, beauty products and accessories. If you want to see more of Louboutins designs the link for the website is here:
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