Christian Louboutin at the Design Museum

The instantly recognisable glossy red soles of the typical Christian Louboutin stiletto reveal a creativity driven by fantasy, play, fetish and sex. The first UK retrospective of the iconic French shoe designer follows Louboutin's creative approach, focusing on the foot as an object of desire. Disrobing and nudity have become important themes, with Louboutin stressing his preference for shoes that 'undress', rather than 'dress'.

Louboutin was born in 1964, the son of a cabinetmaker, and as a child recalls seeing a sign to a Museum of African and Oceanic Art showing a high heel shoe crossed out by a vivid red line. This is a lasting influence that seems to have inspired both the slender silhouette of the heel, and the erotic restraint of his work; particularly evident in his 2007 'Fetish' exhibition at the La Gallerie Du Passage in Paris. The collaboration of photography with artist David Lynch showed footwear that was near impossible to walk in; there was even a 'mono-shoe' consisting of two shoes glued together. From the age of 14, Louboutin was a regular visitor to the Paris nightclubs and cabarets, and in 1980 was offered a job at the famous Parisian music hall, the Folies Bergere. This dramatic element of theatre  and flirtation can be seen as a strong recurrence in his work; where the front of the shoe is plain like the dancer's body, but the back is a bouffant of detail like the showgirl's tail of feathers. 

It must be incredibly hard to create an exhibition of shoes without reducing the content to the appearance of a shoe shop. This has been successfully avoided at the Design Museum, with the use of fragmented rooms exploring Louboutin's design process. Perhaps the piece de la resistance of the whole exhibition is the 3D hologram of American burlesque dancer, Dita Von Teese, by multimedia projection specialists Musion (well known for their recent resurrection of Tupac for the Coachella Music Festival). Taking centre stage above a red display platform mimicking the red sole of a Louboutin, the hologram morphs a shimmering stiletto into the seductive silhouette of Von Teese. 

Images: top three, middle three, bottom two

It's Showtime: Prada A/W12 Milan Fashion Week

It's always interesting to see what Miuccia Prada has up her sleeve for her collections, especially with the hype of the recent Prada Menswear A/W12 where models were replaced by a cast of actors, the likes of Adrien Brody, Jamie Bell and Gary Oldman. For the womanswear, the setting was just as opulent; this time with a vibrant geometric purple carpet contrasted with modern neon lighting. The showspaces of a Prada catwalk are always something to talk about and often set the theme of the season's collection. Designed by Rem Koolhaas' AMO think tank (part of OMA), the show sets are experimental; previous shows have played with a sea of blue foam seats for the S/S 2012 menswear, and the A/W 2009 shows were placed on an archipelago of timber islands. The catwalk has become just as much a spectacle as the model's walking down it, and with so much of a collection now seen online, designers have to catch the attention of their audience, whose concentration span is fast declining. This collection certainly made the eye stray and wonder over the clothes; models sashayed down the catwalk first in a uniform of black, but steadily towards the end of the show in retro, geometric, colourful patterns. You can see that the plush carpet was somehow an enlargement of these shapes, a nod to the mosaic prints adorning the military trouser suits. 

Images: Vogue Paris

Previous showspaces by AMO/OMA as mentioned in the text above.

A/W 2012 Menswear

S/S 2012 Menswear

 S/S 2012 Womenswear

 A/W 2011 Womenswear

 S/S 2011 Menswear and Womenswear

S/S 2010 Menswear

S/S 2010 Womenswear

 S/S 2009 Menswear

 A/W 2008 Menswear

Wallpaper have a timeline of more images: see here Wallpaper

Footwear by Victoria Spruce

Royal College of Art graduate, Victoria Spruce presented the following sculptural and sky-high shoes at the graduate show at the beginning of the month. The architectural shapes are formed with plastic and feature a soft leather insole and lining, that creates a smooth support for the foot within the hard curves.

Keith Haring and Nicholas Kirkwood

In 1986, New York artist Keith Haring opened the Pop Shop in downtown Manhattan. Haring saw the Pop Shop as an extension of his work, a fun boutique where his art could be accessible to everyone. For nearly twenty years, the shop continued to be a downtown attraction with floor-to-ceiling murals and affordable clothing and gift items all featuring Keith Haring's unique icons. In September 2005, the Pop Shop finally closed its doors to the public but Haring's work continues to be displayed around the world in galleries museums and in public spaces. Source: pop-shop

More recently, shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood has created a cartoon-like collection inspired by Keith Haring's artwork. The shoes are quirky and fun, featuring Haring's signature pop art black and white figures and cartoons, which have been transformed with vibrant bows, Plexiglas heels and Swarovski crystals. More images here.