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Christian Louboutin

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Christian Louboutin
Born (1964-01-07) January 7, 1964 (age 60)
France
OccupationShoe designer
Years active1991–present

Christian Louboutin (pronounced IPA: [lubutɔ̃]))[1] (born January 7, 1964) is a footwear designer who launched his line of high-end women's shoes in France in 1991. Since 1992, his designs have incorporated the shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. On March 27, 2007, Louboutin filed an application for U.S. trademark protection of this red sole design.[2][3]

Biography

As a child, Louboutin would regularly sneak out of school, from the age of 12, to watch the showgirls at Paris nightclubs, because he was fascinated by their costumes. He cites this as his main inspiration for becoming a shoe designer: "[The showgirls] influenced me a lot. If you like high heels, it's really the ultimate high heel - it's all about the legs, how they carry themselves, the embellishment of the body. They are the ultimate icons." Although Louboutin faced much opposition following his decision to leave school so 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. "Everybody applauded! And I thought, 'Well, at least if I regret it I'm going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!"

Shoes

File:Louboutin.jpg
Christian Louboutin pump with signature red sole

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 eveningwear designs incorporating bejeweled straps, bows, feathers, patent leather and other, similar decorative touches.[4]

In his U.S. trademark application, Louboutin explains the inception of the signature red soles:

"In 1992 I incorporated the red sole into the design of my shoes. This happened by accident as I felt that the shoes lacked energy so I applied red nail polish to the sole of a shoe. This was such a success that it became a permanent fixture."

Louboutin received inspiration for his lethal-looking stilettos from an incident that occurred in his early 20s. He had visited a museum and noticed that there was a sign forbidding women wearing sharp stilettos from entering 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 has said. "I wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered."[5]

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.[6][7][8]

Style Gallery: Selected Christian Louboutin Styles

Stores

There are three Christian Louboutin boutiques in Paris, located on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré and Rue de Grenelle.

Christian Louboutin has seven boutiques in the United States: two in New York (Madison & Horatio), two in California (West Hollywood & South Coast Plaza), one in Las Vegas, one in the Design District in Miami and is opening one in Highland Park Village in Dallas.

There are two in London, England. The original is in Motcomb Street. An additional one opened in Mount Street in 2008. There are Christian Louboutin concessions at Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Selfridges.

In Asia, the first Christian Louboutin boutique was opened in October 2007 on On Lan Street in Central, Hong Kong. Other boutiques in Asia are located in Singapore's Ngee Ann City mall as well as in Jakarta, Indonesia and Lebanon (Beirut).

In Australia, you can find his shoes sold in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth in David Jones stores.

Recently, Louboutin opened his first store in South America in Shopping Iguatemi São Paulo.[9]

Fighting online fraud

Branded genuine Louboutin shoes are sold through various luxury goods retailers such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and net-a-porter in the UK and Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Nordstrom in the US. Online, the Louboutin brand is under constant attack from fake and knock-off cheaply made versions, often made in China. Louboutin's own website contains a prominent note stating that they do not sell their products online; and that any other domain name containing the word "Louboutin" is very likely to be selling counterfeit goods.

In the last few years, the company has served hundreds of DMCA notices on Google to remove many sites selling fake goods from their search results.[10] Even after this action, thousands more sites remain online.

The company has recently set up a separate website[11] focused on protecting their brand, and drawing attention to the problems. It details hundreds of websites selling fake goods, as well as summaries of legal action taken including raids on factories and photographs and videos of the mass destruction of counterfeit goods discovered.

Media

  • Jennifer Lopez recorded a song about the shoes, naming it "Louboutins". It will be released as the first single from her album Love?.
  • The Oprah Winfrey Show featured Louboutin and a collection of his shoes in a show dedicated to "the face behind the name"; Louboutins were on display around the set, with Oprah Winfrey describing the shoes as "pieces of art".
  • Louboutin has recently collaborated with director David Lynch and they have created an exhibition featuring rare shoes by Louboutin, they are on show at the Pierre Passebon Gallery. The exhibition is named "Fetish".
  • A popular Persian rap band, ZedBazi, mentions Christian Louboutin in their latest song Messe Man.
  • According to a reviewer, Louboutin shoes were worn by rising television morning-news-show producer Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) in a scene as she plays the title character in the 2010 movie Morning Glory.[12]
  • Louboutins play a key role in the 2010 Motion Picture Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. Aguilera's character spots a pair of Louboutins at a party and a male interest ultimately purchases the shoe for her.
  • Britney Spears is an avid Louboutin fan.

Britney Spears in Louboutin for a photoshoot in 2009.

References

  1. ^ Pronunciation of Louboutin name
  2. ^ http://www.counterfeitchic.com/Images/Louboutin%202f%20statement%20in%20trademark%20application.pdf Christian Louboutin Declaration In Support of Acquired Distinctiveness
  3. ^ http://www.counterfeitchic.com/Images/Louboutin%20red%20sole%20in%20TM%20Official%20Gazette%207-10-07.pdf Christian Louboutin Trademark Application
  4. ^ http://www.newsweek.com/id/63166 Newsweek: The Sole of Sexiness
  5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIPzNlYTU98
  6. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200709/ai_n19498411/ Luxury Brand Status Index 2007: Footwear
  7. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS186612+17-Jun-2008+MW20080617 Luxury Brand Status Index 2008: Footwear
  8. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS176686+12-Mar-2009+MW20090312 Luxury Brand Status Index 2009: Footwear
  9. ^ http://www.iguatemisaopaulo.com.br/page/eventosnovidades_detalhes.asp?cod=802 Sao Paulo shopping centre.
  10. ^ Multiple DMCA notices in Google search results
  11. ^ The "stop fake Christian Louboutin" website
  12. ^ Dargis, Manohla, "Plenty of Perky, Even This Early", The New York Times, November 9, 2010 (November 10, 2010 p. C1 of NY ed.). Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  • Simpson, Aislinn (2008-06-30). "Christian Louboutin shoes top sexiness poll". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-07-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Armstrong, Lisa (2008-07-05). "How to get dressed: Christian Louboutin, the most wanted shoe brand". The Times. London. Retrieved 2008-07-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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