Seeing Red: Christian's Directorial Debut

Doing a film is pretty much the it-thing to do in the fashion world right now. We blame Karl Lagerfeld and his stabs at short film last year. But if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have Tom Ford' delicious little "A Single Man" and this 8-minute short from our man Louboutin. Called "Psycho-Logic," it's as much a tribute to Hitchcock as it is a celebration of the opening of Christian's Rodeo Drive boutique in Beverly Hills.

For the record, we love how the shadow of the shoe heel mimics the knife in "Psycho," but a woman wouldn't ever be that afraid of a shoe. Rather quite the opposite. Enjoy the appearance of some fetish heels, a preview of the store interior, and cameo by the haute cobbler himself.

[Via FWD]

Seeing Red: Barney's Fall Window Display

Ok, so Barneys New York had this literal shoe tree of Louboutins up in their windows a while ago. It was October to be sure, because the Olsens were flaunting their new book all over in town, and it shared the window with the CLs. 

I shot these because I love the fact that they played with the mirror image here; the satin clutch is a CL bag, by the way, as are the others in the second picture below. Enjoy.

Christian on Madison Ave, NYC

Doesn't look like much, does it? Christian Louboutin's flagship at 965 Madison Avenue is a cuddly nook down a few steps from the street and completely unassuming compared to its attention-whore neighbor, The Whitney Museum of Art. 

Inside, the shoes are displayed as in his other locations: set into clear plexi cubby holes with extra little accessories for interest (flowers or jewels, for example). When we snapped this pic last week, the shoe below was the star of the window. But you know in an economy like this one, retail price never lasts long and now the same shoes (in grey and black) can be found on sale at Saks. Sigh. 

"Society of the Spectacle" at Louboutin Madison

Christian Louboutin Madison Ave from Flickr: Cynner_SF

Stopping into the new Louboutin shop at 965 Madison Ave between 75th and 76th, the New York Times' Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson finds human caricatures and an argument against capitalism, but sadly few actual shoes. The article will forever go down in history as a testament to the state of American luxury consumption and Louboutin's concept of "very prive." A lovely little excerpt for your reading pleasure:

Louboutin pumps look right at home in the rarefied air betwixt chrome poles and mirrored ceilings, only they are around $900. This makes them not hooker shoes, but merely French.

Ain't that the truth. You see, environments of chrome and mirrors exist on two different levels; there are the $25 vinyl platforms for one and the $625 patent d'orsays for the other. All that's in the middle is mainstream, and "tell me--what lies at the bottom of the mainstream? Mediocrity." - Visconti's Death in Venice