As luck would have it, a journalist from WWD and W magazine, Heidi Lender, happened to be in the shop and mentioned the royal’s presence in her article rounding up a raft of notable new Paris boutiques.
Louboutin credits that stamp of approval for the rash of buying appointments that followed from American department stores. And Princess Caroline would remain a loyal client.
Suffice it to say, the designer’s connections with the Principality of Monaco go way back, and these will be exalted in a retrospective exhibition opening this summer at the Grimaldi Forum.
It’s billed as “Chapter II” of the footwear guru’s acclaimed 2020 exhibition at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris, which endured multiple closures amid waves of pandemic-related lockdowns.
Titled “Christian Louboutin, L’Exhibition[niste],” the display recounts an eventful 30-year career and delves into the French designer’s processes and inspirations, including many from Monaco.
It will include the “Musée Imaginaire” from the Paris debut, an area dedicated to artworks and objects from Louboutin’s personal collection, alongside works loaned from major institutions, including from Monegasque museums.
During a press conference in Paris on Thursday, Louboutin recalled his visit as a child to Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum, which further fed his fascination with sea creatures.
Among his favorite artworks in all of Monaco is a giant chandelier that looks like a sea urchin conceived by Constant Roux and realized by the Maison Baguès in 1908.
The exhibition will sprawl over a much larger surface area than in Paris, spanning more than 20,000 square feet, and Louboutin said its soaring ceilings will allow him to include larger artworks, including a giant painting by Gilbert & George. Its open plan will also allow him to group “families” of signed artworks, found objects and hand-crafted wonders – giving them equal footing.
As in Paris, the Monaco exhibition will explore Louboutin’s love of dance and the legacy of the Ballets Russes, his passion for African art and Asia, the Pop influence of Warhol, and the nudes of Helmut Newton.
Louboutin collaborated with a host of artisans for the original exhibition, commissioning stained-glass windows from the Maison du Vitrail, a silver Sevillian palanquin and a cabaret sculpted in Bhutan. Also featured are photos by filmmaker David Lynch, a video work of Lisa Reihana and leather sculptures by Whitaker Malem.
New features include a large space dedicated to British sculptor and painter Allen Jones. One of Jones’ works, a life-sized nude mannequin, lit from inside with eerie green lights and shod in golden booties, stood next to Louboutin at the press conference.
The designer noted that he would add shoes from collections done since the Paris exhibition, and recently acquired pairs from the first five years of his career. By combing through the gold guest book at the Palais de la Porte Dorée, he discovered clients who had in their possession his early designs. (He kept no archives initially.)
Sponsors of the display include Monaco’s government, CMB Monaco, Mytheresa and Sotheby’s.
Sylvie Biancheri, general director of the Grimaldi Forum, noted that its summer exhibitions, due to their short duration and democratic entry fees, are never profitable, but help burnish Monaco’s reputation for cultural attractions.
Recent exhibitions at the Grimaldi Forum have been dedicated to the artists Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti, while next year Claude Monet will be featured, Biancheri noted.
Monaco is having something of a fashion moment: It is also the site of Chanel’s cruise 2023 show on May 5.
The Louboutin exhibition opens to the public on July 9 and runs until Aug. 28. It is understood it will next travel to a range of cities in China.
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