1 May - 9 July 2012
Design Museum
“Christian Louboutin’s retrospective has broken all attendance records at London’s Design Museum.”
The Independent
Louboutin’s exquisite shoes, with their instantly recognisable glossy red soles, are a unique fusion of fashion, craftsmanship, engineering and sculpture. The first UK retrospective of French shoe designer Christian Louboutin celebrated a career which has pushed the boundaries of high fashion shoe design.
The exhibition showcased twenty years of designs and inspiration, revealing the artistry and theatricality of his shoe design from stilettos to lace-up boots, studded sneakers and bejewelled pumps. Drawing from Christian Louboutin’s personal archive, the exhibition presented a dramatic exhibition environment that examined the many sources of his creativity, shoes inspired by performance, cabaret and the showgirl; fantasy and fairy tale; art and architecture; film; landscape and travel. A recreation of Louboutin’s studio in Paris took the visitor through every stage of the design process, revealing how a shoe is constructed, from the initial drawing and first prototype through to production in the factory.
At the centre of the exhibition was a 3-D holographic performance by the burlesque performer, Dita von Teese who appeared to be dancing in the space.
The exhibition subsequently toured to Toronto.
The exhibition was awarded ‘Best Exhibition Space’ at the World Interiors News Awards 2013.
The exhibition was shortlisted for ‘Best Exhibition Design’ at the Design Week Awards 2013.
