A landmark exhibition on designer Christian Louboutin and his red-soled shoes is coming to in Paris this spring.
From 26 February, an exhibition on the footwear designer, beloved by celebrities like Beyoncé, Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cardi B (who even referenced Louboutin's shoes in her song Bodak Yellow), will take place at the Palais de la Porte Dorée – a grand, Art Deco-style complex in Paris' 12th arrondissement. The exhibition will explore "every facet of his work" with hundreds of Louboutin's red-soled shoes on display. It will also include iconic designs from his personal collection, as well as some never-before-seen pieces.
The exhibition will also lift the lid on the Paris-born designer's creative process, showcasing how the worlds of pop culture, theatre, dance, literature and cinema influenced his work. Some design collaborations, created with Louboutin's favourite artists, can also be seen. Most of these particular pieces have never been exhibited, including designs with the director David Lynch, artists Lisa Reihana and Imran Qureshi, and the choreographer Blanca Li.
According to the Palais de la Porte Dorée, Louboutin was born and raised near the museum and, from an early age, was inspired by the institution's "architectural beauty and ornamental richness." A spokesperson elaborated: "he borrowed a whole repertoire of forms and motifs from the Palais for his first designs, including the Maquereau shoe made of metallic leather and directly inspired by the iridescence of the fish in the Palais de la Porte Dorée’s tropical aquarium."
It was also here, that a teenage Louboutin first noticed a sign forbidding visitors to wear high-heeled shoes. According to the Palais de la Porte Dorée, it was this sign that subsequently inspired the designer's iconic Pigalle shoe, which has been reinvented over the course of the seasons.
Christian Louboutin : l'Exhibition[niste] will take place between 28 February and 26 July 2020. For more information, see here.
