Christian Louboutin takes us inside his new exhibition
This month sees the opening of CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN’s L’Exhibition[niste] retrospective in Paris. KATIE BERRINGTON spoke with the iconic shoe designer, who gives us a fascinating insight into the inspiration and creative processes behind his work
The landmark setting for Christian Louboutin’s L’Exhibition[niste] couldn’t be more fitting, considering the legendary designer grew up in Paris’s 12th arrondissement in the 1960s, close to the Palais de la Porte Dorée (then the Musée des Arts Africains et Océaniens). His exploration of the museum as a child marked the “beginning of infinite imaginary journeys, allowing me to travel, under one roof, across continents and to discover distant lands,” he recalls.
It is a place that Louboutin has returned to again and again, and which played a major part in his early love of art and his “creative trajectory” (and where an illustrated sign forbidding visitors from wearing stilettos on the parquet floors captured his imagination). He says the institution holds “values similar to mine: diversity and openness to the world”, but collaborating on the exhibition is also an opportunity for him to support the building’s recent restoration. The partnership between the two creative forces was born out of “immediate chemistry” between his and the Palais’ teams when conversations began two years ago.
“Louboutin hopes visitors will leave the Palais with the understanding that they have seen “more than just a shoe exhibition”
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The result is an extensive 10-part exhibition that gives an insight into the rich universe of the designer and charts almost three decades of his work. The aforementioned illustrated sign (which went on to inspire his well-known Pigalle model) is followed by a wander through the breadth of inspirations that have fed his creativity. Stained-glass works are used to show the foundations of his career, amalgamating references such as Andy Warhol and his apprenticeships in trade. Later, the Bhutanese theater section evokes his “creations for the world of entertainment in all its forms”. Many of his most iconic designs – which have placed him at the heart (or, rather, on the feet) of pop culture – are displayed, too, as well as a detailed look at the near-100 steps that are required to make a shoe in an atelier.
Louboutin admits it is “never easy to put your career in the hands of somebody to edit it” and that he already had a clear vision of the exhibition by the time curator Olivier Gabet came on board.
“We came to an immediate understanding. We have the same taste for decorative arts. I had seen him and knew him by reputation,” Louboutin says. “It was very simple for me to establish a dialogue with someone like Olivier: open, cultured and very at ease in building bridges between different aesthetic and sociological worlds, between fashion, architecture, craftsmanship, theater.”
Gabet undertook an “intense process of selection” to form the collection. But the curator’s contribution also included offering an external perspective of Louboutin’s creative processes, which the designer found invaluable. “He made me realize the themes I’m inspired by, almost 30 years after I created my company, were already there at the very beginning. Paris, entertainment, arts, travels… everything was already part of my inspiration. It’s still here, but expressed in a different way.”
It is unsurprising, hearing the collaborative approach that was taken to piece together the exhibition, that many notable relationships and partnerships around Louboutin’s métier are featured. “From the beginning of my career, [artists and craftsmen] have always had a prominent place in my creative process, whether through collaborations or cartes blanches,” he says. “Inviting [them] to take part in this exhibition was also a way of showing my respect, while providing them with the opportunity to express their own vision of my work. It was a way for me to show that my work is often a team effort.”
Also unsurprising, then, is the fact that the designer finds it impossible to pick a standout feature amongst the collection. A few highlights, however, include a palanquin, which is “quite exceptional from the amount of savoir-faire from all over the world it implied: metalwork from Seville, embroidery from India, crystal shoes from France and Germany”; digital artwork by Lisa Reihana; the “sensuality of the sculptures” realized by British artists Whitaker & Malem; bespoke art works created by his friends Imran Qureshi and Sabyasachi Mukherjee; and photographs by David Lynch, presented in the fetish section.
Louboutin hopes visitors will leave the Palais with the understanding that they have seen “more than just a shoe exhibition” and having discovered “different facets of the house [and] of my work rather than what they had in mind before entering”.
“I’ve put a lot of myself as a man and as a designer into this project,” he concludes. “There is a sense of macrocosm inhabiting a microcosm that I would love people to retain about their visit. And if there is a feeling of madness and exhibitionism that stays with you, that’s good, too.”
Exhibition[niste] is at the Palais de la Porte Dorée from February 26 to July 26