Christian Louboutin says his business grew by double digits in 2009, which was generally a horrible year for anyone trying to sell an item of luxury apparel. He tells the new issue of Vanity Fair that he owes a lot of his sales (340,000 pairs of shoes a year) to Danielle Steel, who is said to have 6,000 pairs of the shoes.
“She comes to Paris, and she literally buys everything. Then she flies back to New York, says, ‘I’m a little disappointed — there’s nothing in the store,’ and walks out with 80 pairs,” he grinned. “She is super.”
Louboutin rarely gives shoes away, though some celebrities receive discounts. And it seems increasingly possible that the Loub lust is not all about the red sole. Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz once painted the red soles black for one of his early shows. Though Elbaz has stopped, Martha Stewart has boasted of doing this regularly. But it’s not like she needs those soles for everyone to know how rich she is.
A WALK IN HIS SHOES [WWD]
