Christian Louboutin (pronounced [kʁis.tjɑ̃ lu.bu.tɛ̃]; b. 7 January 1963) is a French footwear designer whose footwear has incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Louboutin was born in Paris and grew up in Paris's 12th arrondissement. He was the only son of Roger, an ébéniste,^[2] and Irene, a homemaker, and he has three sisters. He was expelled from school three times and ran away from home at the age of 12,^[3] at which point his indulgent mother allowed him to move out to live at a friend's house.^[4] 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. He later remarked, "Everybody applauded! And I thought, 'Well, at least if I regret it I'm going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!'"

Landscape architect Louis Benech has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin and his partner spend time between their homes in Paris’s 1st arrondissement,^[5] a fisherman's cottage in Lisbon,^[6] a palace in Aleppo,^[7] a houseboat on the Nile christened Dahabibi-my love boat, and a house in Luxor. The Luxor domicile is a former craftsman’s workshop, made of earthen bricks, to which he has added an additional floor and a rooftop belvedere.^[8] Additionally, he also shares a 13th-century castle in the Vendée with his business partner Bruno Chamberlain.^[4]

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.

Career[link]

Christian Louboutin Ltd.

Type	Private,S.A
Industry	Consumer goods
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Christian Louboutin, Founder Bruno Chamberland, CEO[9] Alexis Mourot, COO & GM[9] Priya Mohindra,U.S Communications Director[10]
Products	Shoes,Purses,Wallets
Revenue	$250 million (31 December 2010) on 600,000 pairs of shoes a year[11]
Employees	420 (2011) [4]
Website	christianlouboutin.com

He began sketching shoes in his early teens, ignoring his academic studies. Going through a punk phase, he was in a few films, including 1979 cult classic Race d'ep. Under the title The Homosexual Century, a film which attracted an English-language audience. His first job was at the Folies Bergères, the caberet where he assisted the entertainers backstage. He was also a fixture on the city's party scene, clubbing his nights away alongside Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol.^[4]

His little formal training included drawing and the decorative arts at the Académie d'Art Roederer. Louboutin claims his fascination with shoes began in 1976 when he visited the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie on the avenue Daumesnil. It was there that he saw a sign from Africa forbidding women wearing sharp stilettos from entering a building for fear of damage to the extensive wood flooring. This image stayed in his mind, and he later used this idea in his designs. "I wanted to defy that," Louboutin said. "I wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered."^[12]

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, who claims to have invented the stiletto, or spiked-heel shoe. Louboutin 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 Maud Frizon. In the late 1980s, he gave turned away from fashion to become a landscape gardener and to contribute to Vogue but missed working with shoes and set up his company in 1991.

With funds from two backers, he opened a Paris shoe salon in 1991 with Princess Caroline of Monaco as his first customer. She complimented the store one day when a fashion journalist was present, and the journalist's subsequent publication of Princess's comments helped greatly to increase Louboutin's renown. Clients such as Diane von Fürstenberg and Catherine Deneuve followed. Later, those interested in his stiletto heels have included Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a pair of shoes by Louboutin for her wedding.

Louboutin has topped the Luxury Institute's annual Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) for three years; the brand's offerings were declared the Most Prestigious Women's Shoes in 2007, 2008, and 2009.^[13][14][15]

Shoes[link]

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 has been to "make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as [he] can." While he does offer some lower-heeled styles, Louboutin is generally associated with his dressier evening-wear designs incorporating jeweled straps, bows, feathers, patent leather, and other similar decorative touches.^[16] Despite being known for his celebrity clients, he rarely gives shoes away – offering discounts instead to his high-profile fans. This policy also extends to his personal family, because he feels that giving shoes away as gifts is unimaginative.^[17]

His single biggest client is Danielle Steel, who is reputed to own over 6,000 pairs and is known to have purchased up 80 pairs at a time when shopping at his stores.^[18]

Christian Louboutin vs. Yves Saint Laurent[link]

In 2011, Christian Louboutin company filed a trademark infringement of its red-soled shoes against designer Yves Saint Laurent.^[19] The firm is expecting that the YSL shoe design will be revoked and is seeking US $1 million in damages.^[20] However, in August 2011, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero denied the firm's request to stop the sale of women's shoes with red soles by Yves Saint Laurent. The judge questioned the validity of the trademark, writing, "Louboutin's claim would cast a red cloud over the whole industry, cramping what other designers do, while allowing Louboutin to paint with a full palette."^[21] Judge Marrero also wrote, "Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning."^[22] Jewelry company Tiffany & Co., which has its blue box trademarked, filed a amicus curiae brief focusing on trademarking a color. Fashion periodical WWD reported that Tiffany's brief supports Louboutin's appeal to reverse the decision made by Judge Marrero.^[23]

Boutiques[link]

The list of distributors and location of the stores can be found on the Christian Louboutin Web site. A new ladies boutique has been scheduled to open in Turkey in 2012.^[24]

In the spring of 2012,the company also plans to open its first men's store in New York City, boasting over 1,000 square feet of space and conveniently located next to its existing Horatio Street store.^[25] From previous experience in his Paris Store, Louboutin claimed that women feel uncomfortable when men stare at them while they try on shoes, hence a separate stores.^[26]

The first Louboutin Men's Boutique, Christian Louboutin Boutique Homme on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Paris, opened in the summer of 2012.