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Everyday Life • Fashion

Christian Louboutin

Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer best known for luxury shoes with distinctive red lacquered soles.

Updated July 30, 20261 min readCited sources

Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer best known for luxury shoes with distinctive red lacquered soles. He founded his eponymous brand in Paris and later expanded it into men’s footwear, handbags, fragrances, and beauty products.

What it is

Louboutin introduced the red-lacquered sole in 1993, making his shoes instantly recognizable. The design became his hallmark and helped establish the brand’s identity in high-end fashion. The brand is internationally distributed through boutiques and retail partners.

Key details

Christian Louboutin was born in Paris in 1964 and developed an early interest in shoes. He worked as a freelance designer for fashion houses before opening his own shoe salon in Paris in 1991. The label later grew to include men’s footwear, handbags, fragrances, and makeup.

Why it matters

Louboutin’s designs have been widely associated with celebrity culture and red-carpet fashion. His shoes are among the most recognisable luxury footwear designs in contemporary fashion, carrying cultural weight as a symbol of status and style.

In short

  • Red-soled stilettos are the brand's defining feature.
  • Started career working for other fashion houses.
  • Brand expanded into men's footwear and accessories.
  • Strong association with celebrity and luxury fashion.
Canadian angle

Christian Louboutin products are sold in Canada through luxury retail channels and are part of the international fashion market familiar to Canadian consumers.

Quick questions

Who is Christian Louboutin?
He is a French fashion designer best known for luxury shoes with red soles.
What is Christian Louboutin famous for?
He is famous for high-end footwear featuring distinctive red-lacquered soles.
When did he start his own brand?
He launched his own shoe business in Paris in 1991.

Sources

  1. Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Louboutin
    Supports: Birth date, French nationality, shoe salon in Paris, red-lacquered soles, brand expansion
  2. Encyclopaedia Britannicahttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Christian-Louboutin
    Supports: French fashion designer, born in Paris, known for red-soled shoes
  3. Biography.comhttps://www.biography.com/history-culture/christian-louboutin
    Supports: Born in 1963 in Paris, launched women’s shoes in the early 1990s, added red soles in 1993, expanded into handbags and men’s shoes
  4. The Business of Fashionhttps://www.businessoffashion.com/people/christian-louboutin/
    Supports: Status as a prominent shoe designer and large-scale sales
  5. BBC Culturehttps://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200228-christian-louboutin-king-of-the-killer-stiletto
    Supports: First boutique, celebrity clientele, expansion into handbags and beauty