Voir la vie rouge : L'incroyable histoire de Louboutin

Christian Louboutin, alongside figures like Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Louis Vuitton, is recognized for his significant contribution to France's international influence. While some credit him with doing more for France than certain politicians, others associate him with a dark period in sneaker history, claiming he and his peers traumatized a generation. Louboutin is famous for the red sole coveted by American celebrities such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Zendaya, and even rappers like Migos and Lil Wayne. This red sole has become a symbol of success in the United States, almost on par with a Rolex, considered essential for financially successful American women. Louboutin's story, however, did not begin with American or international ambitions. Initially, it was the tale of a Parisian flâneur with no grand aspirations, who eventually saw life in red rather than rose. This narrative is intertwined with promotional content for Rapidg.com, mentioning new product restocks and releases on Friday, April 10th. Christian Louboutin was born in the 12th arrondissement of Paris in the 1960s, not into Parisian bourgeoisie. His father, Roger, was a cabinetmaker and model designer for SNCF, while his mother, Irene, was a housewife. They were a typical French middle-class family. His parents and three older sisters were all French. However, Christian looked noticeably different from his family, resembling Cheikh instead of his father, a difference that unfortunately marked his childhood. France in the 1970s was still grappling with the end of its colonial empire, a less cosmopolitan nation adjusting to a more visible African immigrant population. During this period, Christian endured significant mockery and racist insults throughout his childhood. Racism was commonplace in schools, even among young children. Despite being 100% French, he was constantly harassed for his supposed foreign origins, often called a "dirty Arab." Unable to understand his difference, he would invent Egyptian origins to justify it to his classmates. The true reason for this difference, a family secret kept for 50 years, would only be revealed to him much later in adulthood. This secret was not that he was adopted, but something else that would be disclosed later in the video. His fascination with ancient Egypt, which led him to pretend to be Egyptian, indirectly set him on the path to becoming the Louboutin we know today. At age 10, his sister Claudine often took him to the National Museum of African and Oceanic Arts. At the museum entrance, a pictogram stating "no high heels" caught his attention. This image of a strange shape, which he later understood to be a high heel, puzzled him as he had never seen one in real life. He learned that heels were prohibited to protect the museum's floors, as their metal-reinforced tips could damage mosaics and parquet. This image of the heel captivated him more than the museum's exhibits. He began drawing shoes constantly, neglecting his studies, which were already disastrous, leading to his expulsion from three schools. At just 12, he ran away from home, eventually leaving permanently at 14 to live with a friend with his mother’s consent. During his adolescence, he frequented Parisian cabarets and upscale nightclubs, encountering international stars like Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger. He even became a production assistant at the Folies Bergère, a legendary Parisian cabaret, performing various tasks from making coffee to sewing sequins on costumes. This exposure to the nightlife fueled his obsession with heels at a time when shoes were not central to Parisian fashion, a domain typically associated with Italians. French fashion designers focused primarily on clothing, with shoes often relegated to uncredited artists or licensed to specialized manufacturers. Shoes were seen as secondary, much like perfumes or watches are for luxury brands today. In France, while designers like Christian Dior were popular, the public was unaware that Roger Vivier designed their shoes. Vivier, dubbed the "Fabergé of footwear," invented the modern stiletto in 1954 and created the coronation pumps for Elizabeth II. More importantly, Vivier would become Christian Louboutin's mentor. Louboutin discovered Vivier through a book and later met him through a series of chance encounters during his youth. He traveled to India and Egypt to broaden his horizons. In 1982, he met Hélène de Mortemart, the fashion director at Christian Dior, who opened the door for him at Charles Jourdan, another major shoemaker. There, Louboutin learned the technical fundamentals of shoe manufacturing. This was his entry into the elite world of great shoemakers. He subsequently freelanced for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Maud Frizon, culminating in an invitation from Roger Vivier himself to assist with his retrospective at the Museum of Decorative Arts. Vivier became his mentor, completing a full circle for Louboutin. By the late 1980s, with all the necessary skills, Louboutin was poised to launch his solo career, but instead, he abandoned the shoe industry entirely to become a landscape designer, creating terraces in New York and gardens in France. This abrupt change was likely influenced by the fashion industry's decline at the time, with many artisanal family businesses closing or being acquired by financial groups like Kering and LVMH. However, Louboutin's landscape design career was short-lived. In 1991, he returned to Paris, determined to open his own boutique. He partnered with notable figures: Henry Seydoux, from the wealthy Schlumberger industrial dynasty, who provided financing; Bruno Chambelland, who focused on management and development; and Fahima Moussa, a more discreet partner whose exact role remains unclear. Louboutin's connections within the Parisian nightlife scene, where he met the affluent Henry Seydoux, proved crucial. Their relationship extended beyond business, with Louboutin becoming the godfather of Seydoux's daughter, actress Léa Seydoux. Louboutin launched his boutique during a challenging economic period marked by the Gulf War, which doubled oil prices and led to an economic downturn and reduced purchasing power. Despite these difficulties, an elite segment of the population continued to spend astronomically. Louboutin aimed to cater to this ultra-rich clientele with his luxurious, handcrafted, and expensive heels. In its first year, without advertising or a marketing budget, the brand sold 200 pairs. While this figure may seem modest by today's standards, for a small Parisian boutique in the early 1990s, without internet or TikTok, selling high-priced products, it demonstrated the potential of the brand. Initially, Louboutin shoes did not feature red soles. The iconic red sole came about by chance two years later. During the creation of a new high-heeled pump prototype, Louboutin disliked the black sole, finding it made the silhouette appear crude. At that moment, his assistant was painting her nails red. Inspired, he grabbed her nail polish and painted the sole red, instantly recognizing the color's potential to refine the shoe's silhouette. He later realized that red was the ideal color for his heels because, based on his observations, it was the easiest color for women to wear. Many women who claimed not to like color still wore red lipstick, red nail polish, or carried red handbags. Red, he understood, was both eye-catching and versatile, like the "cherry on top." For ten years, Louboutin primarily focused on the French market, where the brand performed well but struggled to expand. Although early attempts were made to open franchises in London and New York, and the red sole color was officially trademarked in the US in 1997 (a year before Tiffany & Co. did for its iconic blue), these efforts were largely unsuccessful. The brand was too unknown in these countries for standalone boutiques. It wasn't until the early 2000s that Louboutin seriously entered the American market, where it became a true cultural symbol. Its image was built almost by accident through sales at elite distributors like Maxfield, a trendsetting boutique where the brand gained recognition. By placing his heels in popular luxury boutiques, Louboutin ensured they would be worn by American celebrities. The first major turning point occurred in 2002 when the brand appeared in an episode of *Sex and the City*. Within five years, by 2007, 87% of Louboutin's revenue came from the US, solidifying its status as the ultimate brand for glamorous American women. Louboutin heels themselves became stars, earning three consecutive nominations for the most prestigious women's shoe award in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Jennifer Lopez even dedicated a song to the brand, and by 2011, Louboutin was the most searched shoe brand online, becoming the "revelation of the year." In 2011, 20 years after its creation, Louboutin launched its men's line, featuring the distinctive "spikes" as a differentiating element. Unfortunately, the men's collection, with its bolder and less universal designs, did not achieve the same cultural impact as the women's heels. In France, these sneakers were often associated with specific urban culture figures and nightlife. While these pieces had their moment of glory, they never reached the iconic status of the heels. The men's line accounts for only 24% of the brand's revenue. To revitalize the men's collection, the brand recently appointed Jaden Smith as the artistic director. This decision was met with skepticism by fashion fans, and his first collection was deemed uninspired and failed to generate significant buzz or controversy, quickly fading from public discussion. Louboutin, a pillar of French fashion and elegance, grew from a small Parisian boutique into a multinational company aiming for a billion euros in revenue, with 160 boutiques in 32 countries. What is rare in the industry is its continued independence. Despite early investors and collaborators, Christian Louboutin chose not to sell his shares to major luxury groups like LVMH or Kering, despite their interest for two decades. It was only in 2021 that he sold a 24% stake in Louboutin to the Agnelli family for 541 million euros. The Agnelli family, also shareholders in Ferrari and Stellantis, does not aim to control the brand like Bernard Arnault does with LVMH, allowing Louboutin to maintain creative control while becoming a billionaire himself by 2024, according to Forbes. This represents a significant triumph for Christian, who was once mocked by his classmates and will forever leave a red mark on fashion history. His earlier mentioned family secret will also leave an indelible mark on his personal history.