REPORTAGE
Red. He made it his trademark, the color of the sole of his luxury shoes sold around the world. But where did this idea of painting the underside of his shoes come from? On the occasion of the exhibition L'Exhibition [niste] which opened its doors on Wednesday in Paris to celebrate its 30 years of career, Europe 1 asked him the genesis of this idea.
It germinated when he was only ten years old. The young Christian Louboutin then comes across a design that will change his life: that of a black pump. "A black shoe from the 1950s, in profile, with a very pointed heel," he recalls. "I had never seen this type of shoe, nor this type of design". A shoe which then begins to draw itself "in an almost neurotic way".
>> Watch Matthieu Belliard's morning show in replay and in podcast here
A nail polish, and "a pure red"
Color is the nail polish of a girl trying on her shoes, who inspired her. "I stuck her nail polish on her and I gave it a try saying that I wanted to erase that big black mark that was the sole," continues the designer. By erasing this black trace, the red color then appeared. "I wanted a red where there was no orange, no pink, no purple ... Really the idea of Chinese or Japanese lacquer: pure red". A red also inspired by pop art, a cultural movement of the 1960s and embodied in particular by the American artist Andy Warhol.
Anyway, a red that has been lying under a sole for three decades. On the occasion of Christian Louboutin's 30th anniversary, his creations are in the spotlight in the exhibition L'Exhibition [niste], from February 26 to January 26, 2020 at the Palais de la Porte Dorée, near the Bois de Vincennes , the neighborhood where he grew up.