Over the years, Louboutin's artistic evolution has been tremendously enriched through his love for travel. His taste for the exotic, interpreted to reflect the Louboutin inimitable aesthetic, makes its appearance in the designs of his shoes and bags season after season. His passion for exploration feeds his imagination both through the discovery of new landscapes as well new cultures. Local bazaars are treasure chests full of new colors, fabrics, art and furniture which often find their way back to the world of Christian Louboutin.
As a child, he recalls discovering a drawing at the Museum of African art, which showed a woman's sharp-heeled shoe, crossed out with a vivid red line. The image, which dated back to the 1950's and was intended to safeguard the museum's parquet floor, fascinated him. He had never seen such a shoe, which in its fine delicacy was in sharp contrast to the prevailing 1970s trends for flat or clunky heeled shoes, and the image never left him.
Seduced by the glamorous world of cabaret as a teenager, Louboutin's earliest designs were intended for the feet of the graceful dancers gliding on the stages of Paris. He sees the showgirl as an ultra feminine representation of beauty and exoticism and often compares her to a bird of paradise. This vivid and fantastical imagery finds life in La Pluminette, an ethereal shoe embellished with a flurry of feathers giving its wearer an illusion of weightlessness and agility. The admiration and enthusiasm for the dancer and the art of performance have continued to be a rich source of inspiration for Louboutin. From the famous legs and the soaring energy of Tina Turner, to the glamour and seduction of Dita von Teese’s performances, a Louboutin creation has a natural presence on stage.
From the artisans of Egypt to the haute couture tradition of his native France, craftsmanship remains a principal value in the work of Christian Louboutin. "Being born and raised in Paris, I have a precise idea of couture and of Parisian elegance."
His love for art, architecture, fine arts and design, his lifelong fascination with the world of showgirls and cabaret, passion for exotic destinations and a deep admiration for craftsmanship are all values deeply rooted in his work. These inspirations manifest themselves in Louboutin's designs in unexpected ways through his ingenious use of unique materials, shapes and colors. His mastery of playing with proportions, taking shoes to new heights and the ever-present flirtation with the world of fetishism, have over time solidified an identity undeniably his own.