Entitled “Christian Louboutin: l’exhibitioniste”, the exhibition will be held from 25 February to 26 July, exploring the style and creative process of the designer’s thirty year-long career. Curated by Olivier Gabet, director of the Musée des Arts Décoratif, the exhibition presents a wide range of shoes, some of which have never before been seen, but all strictly with the iconic red sole. The exhibition pathway will reveal the inspiration of the designer, who was fuelled by his passion for the arts, other cultures, and travel. Among the pieces on show, will be the prototype created with the students of Bhutan’s Royal Art School and the dance shoes with vertiginous heels, which were the protagonists of a series of photos taken by David Lynch for a project dedicated to fetishism. There is then the Cordova leather model and Nominé sandals in tribute to the Cannes Film Festival with the bow reproducing the filmstrip of a movie.
The exhibition ends with an “Imaginary Museum”, which presents the references and artistic inspirations of Louboutin as well as the artistic works dear to him.
Why was the Palais de la Porte Dorée chosen as the venue? It was a place dear to the designer, which influenced him from early on in his vocation. In fact, Louboutin, who lived in the 12th district where the museum is located, would often go there to visit the tropical aquarium. It is precisely here that he took notice of a sign forbidding visitors to wear high-heeled shoes, which might mark the delicate wooden floor, and this accessory accordingly sparked his love for women’s shoes.