Christian Louboutin Talks About The Women Who Have Shaped His Life

Christian Louboutin talks to Justine Picardie about the women who have shaped his life, the life that shapes his shoes and why Cinderella’s glass slippers are a dream come true

To his myriad admirers around the world, myself included, Christian Louboutin is far more than a designer; he is a purveyor of enchantment and dreams, the contemporary equivalent of a magical shoemaker in the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson (who was himself the son of a cobbler). I have known Louboutin for a number of years, and seen him mobbed by several hundred fans seeking his signature in Harrods, and celebrated in a hit single by Jennifer Lopez. But we are meeting today in one of his Paris properties (Louboutin owns several in this, the city of his birth, as well as homes in the French countryside, Egypt and Portugal). It’s just a few steps away from his jewel box of a boutique on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, where ardent shoppers are stocking up on his signature red-soled heels. But inside his apartment is an ever more beguiling new Made to Order collection, featuring fantastical creations first shown during Paris Couture Week, including a pair of hand-sculpted goldplated stiletto heels inspired by the spines of a porcupine, and another adorned with turquoise cabochons and a filigree tiara.