Christian Louboutin : the French gentleman of the red sole stillettos

Christian Louboutin (b. 7 January 1963) is a French footwear designer whose footwear has incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature.

Louboutin was born in Paris and grew up in Paris's 12th arrondissement. He was the only son of Roger, an ébéniste 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, at which point his indulgent mother allowed him to move out to live at a friend's house. 

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, a fisherman's cottage in Lisbon, a palace in Aleppo, 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. Additionally, he also shares a 13th-century castle in the Vendée with his business partner Bruno Chamberlain. 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." 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. 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.

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.

info www.louboutin.com & wikipedia