To say Christian Louboutin loves shoes is an understatement. Aside from the hundreds of styles he designs for his own line, he also has a personal collection of around 200 pairs of shoes.
Surprisingly, the Frenchman says his favourite is not one of his own designs; he's lusting after gold lace-up flats for women from stuffy British label Church's. Considering the 45-year-old designer built his successful business by selling sex (and super high heels) to women, it seems like an odd choice.
"Yes, they are women's shoes," he says, giggling. "I was in London and they didn't have my size and I was so annoyed. I had to have them. I bought them in silver too.
"Even though I love them, I would never do men's style lace-ups for women. No, no. We've done a fake brogue with a heel and that's it. These types of men's shoes are not for women."
Considering his track record, it's safe to say Louboutin knows what women want to wear. Four years ago, his name didn't mean much to anyone outside of celebrity or fashion circles. Today most women would love to score a pair of red-soled Loubies.
As a result, his business has grown from one small shop in Paris to 12 free-standing boutiques and distribution in 46 countries at high-end stores including Lane Crawford and On Pedder in Hong Kong.
So, how did Louboutin achieve success so quickly? "I hired someone to take care of the company and got some partners. There was a moment when it became impossible to do everything," he says. "The energy was more valuable on the side of creation than on management so we hired a general manager."
He remains in control of design. Louboutin still sketches every pair of shoes himself, starting off with 400 styles per season, which eventually gets edited down to about 150. But unlike his earlier creations, which included museum-worthy pieces such as a wedge shoe with a love letter encased in the heel, his current best-seller is a more subtle yet sexy pump that shows just the right amount of toe cleavage.
"Before, there were 40 day shoes and 20 evening shoes, but now it's 30 evening shoes but 110 day shoes. Before, I would do shoes that were very dressy and that dressed the woman, but now I have the tendency to undress the woman. I don't like shoes that are dressy. Some shoes you put on a naked women and she will look odd. I want to create pairs that will look like they are part of her, even when she is naked.
"The core of the business are the same styles: our signature platform pump or the peep-toe pump. These are the shoes women will always come back for. A pump is a pump, but you will still buy a new pair every six months. There are a few fashiony pieces, but that's not what I am about. My shoes are built to last."
To keep up with the growing demand for anything Louboutin, the designer has also added a women's handbags line in 2003, and more recently a men's collection.
Of course, with a bigger business and higher profile comes problems. Perhaps the biggest issue he's now facing is the copycat red soles (an idea that came to him when he saw his assistant applying red nail polish, which he thought was sexy and flirtatious) that are appearing in shops and stalls worldwide.
"Alors! This is something we have to stop! We have closed down a few [illegal] factories in China which is good," he says. "The problem is that with the internet people can see everything - that's why we don't sell online on our website. When I see a brand on my type of level with our prices being copied, I am pissed off. Basically, they are abusing your work - it's your name but not your shoes. It becomes scary."
Judging from his latest spring/summer collection, counterfeiters may have trouble replicating the Tahiti pump decorated with a life-sized black orchid or the intricate Lady Lynch Strass embedded with crystals all over the shoe. And let's not forget his trademark super high heels.
Ask any Louboutin fan what they love most about his shoes, and they'll tell you it's all about feeling sexy. For the designer however, it's a matter of power. "Once an executive came to thank me at a store event. I asked her why and she told me she wore a pair of my shoes to an interview and got the job," he says.
"Her reasoning was the shoes allowed her to talk eye to eye with her prospective boss. It was about equality, putting them on the same level. The extra height ... allows women to talk on the same level as men. Once you are a certain height you see the world in a different way."
Apart from his shoes, Louboutin is working on other projects. This year he directed his first film, to celebrate the opening of his Los Angeles store. He will do a similar project next year involving shoes, photographs and film, he says. He is also designing three outfits for fashion doll Barbie, although that has created some controversy.
"All I said was that we needed to change her ankles! I am a shoe designer, we look at bodies and she doesn't have a curved ankle, it's straight. All I said was if it's going to be about the shoe, we need to change the ankle and arch so it's higher. Then out of context people said I thought she was fat. Come on, she's a doll!"
Outside work, Louboutin says he's busy acquiring homes and objects to fill them; and then, of course, there's his own shoe shopping to take care of.
"When I buy shoes, I always promise myself it's the last pair because I don't need another. But I keep on buying them! I'm like a girl who can't resist a new pair of shoes," he says.
Lucky for him, every woman feels the same way.
