Christian Louboutin at The Design Museum

Whether you are obsessed with handsome shoes, love art, admire architecture or just, like me, go weak at the knees for anything remotely pretty/that will make you look a thousand times better than you already do then the Christian Louboutin exhibition at The Design Museum is a must see.

Now I'm all for a good pair of shoes, and most of the time they aren't practical in the slightest, but no way was I prepared for the feelings I felt when I stepped into this vault-like space full of Louboutins.

Image: Luke Hayes

The first thing I noticed? A lot of the shoes were a 36. My size. The second: there were cameras. Everywhere. There was no chance I'd be able to slip any of them into my bag (not that one shoe is a good look, there aren't many pairs displayed).

I often see glamourous, extravagant shoes as works of art. And of course, they are. Sitting on plush velvet cushions, hanging from a carousel, teasing you.

Image: Luke Hayes

Louboutin said 'I have no sense of minimalism - it's not at all me. I absolutely need objects around me. I couldn't live in an empty space - as far as I'm concerned, that's the definition of prison.' And there is nothing minimalist about this exhibition.

The grandeur of the displays, the layout, the carefully selected samples of right or left feet... Christian Louboutin will arouse something in you. Whether you lust after a pair or imagine your wife or girlfriend wearing a pair.

And then there is the small collection of fetish footwear. Like the La Lynch from 2007 or the Fakir or Siamoise. In this dimly lit section of the exhibition, you're surrounded by some of the most subtle and not so subtly perverse shoes you'll ever see. They'll make even the prudest of women want to take up S&M, trust me.


If it's the art you're there for, maybe you'll appreciate the Mondriana from Spring/Summer 2008. If, like me, you love a spike then you'll find it hard to stop staring at the beauty of the Asteroid from this season. But (without me sounding like the most shallow person on the planet) my heart stopped when I saw one particular pair of shoes from the SS11 collection: Trés Décolleté. Oh boy.

You can learn a lot about the man behind the worlds sexiest shoes, whether you read about his life or not. My husband certainly did: never take your wife to a shoe exhibition if you're not prepared to buy her at least one pair.

If you're still not feeling sexy after all this shoe porn, you can watch Dita perform a burlesque. I can guarantee that, whether male or female, your mouth will be open by the end.

Image: Luke Hayes

(Be warned: taking your kid to this exhibition isn't a great idea. You'll either lose them because you're too busy drooling over the beauty of the shoes to notice they've gone AWOL or they'll end up throwing shoes everywhere - either way...best leave them indoors.)


Christian Louboutin 1st May - 9th July at The Design Museum, 26 Shad Thames, London.