No, not Christian Dior, the influential French fashion designer, who is best known as the founder of one of the world’s top fashion houses. We are talking Christian Louboutin, French shoe designer, famous for his stilettos with fiery red soles. Walking alongside of the streets of Paris as a teenager, Louboutin noticed a billboard in front of the Museum of Oceanic Art that instructed women tourists not to scratch the wooden floors inside. He felt bothered by the sign and, as a consequence, he would draw shoes with compressed buckles and with soles. He admits to having spent a lot of time as a teenager drawing these types of shoes in his school notebooks.
To get his name out in the world of fashion, Christian began to go to parties around Paris with an armful of shoes. He offered them up to anyone willing to look but was often flat out rejected due to the lofty price tags. While trying to grow his business, Christian decided to attend design classes to increase his chances of making a sale. Finally, Christian raised enough money to open a boutique in Paris. It quickly became one of the hottest spots to shop, not only for the shoes, but for the free coffee and excellent customer service provided. Companies in other countries, particularly the US, caught wind of Christian’s excellent line and service. Stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks picked up the line almost instantaneously.
But, for some reason, Louboutin was not completely satisfied with his shoes. He wanted something that made his designs stand out in the sea of shoes walking down the street around the world. He became inspired by an employee’s red Chanel nail polish and felt that making a red sole would be the best possible distinguishing feature for his brand. His Andy Warhol inspired flower shoe was the first to feature the illustrious red sole and sent his brand into phenomenal fame.
Christian Louboutin has boutiques in the biggest, brightest cities in the world like New York, Paris, and Hong Kong. He has received numerous awards and distinctions for his designs including a feature story on the Oprah Winfrey show, exhibitions at the Pierre Passebon Gallery and Fashion Institute of Technology among others, mentions in songs by artists like Ciara and Jay-Z, and tons of celebrity fans like Hayden Panettiere, Angelina Jolie, Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera. Christian Louboutin shoes are among the most glamorous in the world.
The ‘We Are One’ concert held on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial was a star-studded event to kick off a weeklong celebration of Obama’s Inauguration on Tuesday, Jan. 20th. Thousands upon thousands of concert-goers braved the cold to see the biggest names in music and entertainment including performances from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, U2 and Mary J. Blige; as well as speeches from Martin Luther King III, and actors Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. In celebration of the inauguration week, we should all wear a little red, white and blue! Patriotism is defined as love of and devotion to one’s country.
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