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"Sarah Palin," answers Christian Louboutin, in an emphatic tone that makes no attempt to hide his disgust. The question posed before the famed shoe designer is simple: Who would he hate to see wearing his iconic red-soled shoes?
"I wouldn't be excited by Sarah Palin as the vice-president in my shoes. I would rather give her a thousand pairs of shoes and she forgets about being vice-president."
It's a bribe that most women would happily be offered. Some would even dare to suggest when given the choice between the vice-presidency of the United States and a wardrobe full of heavenly stilettos by one of the world's premier designers — many women would choose Louboutin.
The Parisian designer's creations have become a subject of obsession ever since he opened the doors of his first boutique in 1992. A glimpse of the famous red soles draws both looks of envy and excitable conversation and it's for this reason Louboutin found himself in Dubai last month, scouting for possible store locations.
"I have a lot of customers coming from Dubai and they always complain that they don't have enough shoes, there's not enough selection, they don't have their size and why?" he says, imitating the harried nature of his dedicated clientele. "If it had been said to me once, twice, three times you don't necessarily have to consider it.
"But I have 14 stores and I always have people coming from Dubai. I am definitely thinking that in '09 we will have to do a store."
Despite Louboutin's ability to make women swoon, he confesses he is yet to fulfil a personal quest to create the perfect pump. "I am trying to do the simplest shoes in the world," he declares.
"When you look at the shoe on a woman it should be like it's in a drawing, that it's almost unreal. That doesn't mean unreal as in crazy, but just like a pure sketch, almost a malformation of the foot." He picks up a pen to illustrate his point, sketching in quick, fluid lines his ideal shoe.
For the 43-year-old, this challenge of the "simplest shoe" has become a matter of compulsion. "I can't wait to see the first prototype," he says of his latest attempt. "Of course, I am going to be desperate for the first five minutes. The more simple the shoe, the more time it takes."
He likens the process to achieving perfect bone structure, eliminating the need for make-up or embellishment. "Do you want to do Nefertiti or Boy George? Nefertiti you can do anything, because the structure is perfect."
Perfection is a word that could easily be associated with Louboutin. From his carefully organised appearance in a fluorescent yellow polo-shirt which is impeccably co-ordinated with matching trainers, to the manner in which he retraces the outline of his sketches, it's obvious the designer considers every minute detail.
When asked if he views himself as a perfectionist, he tells the story of his Paris apartment as a way of answer. "After three years, it's still not finished! I drive everyone crazy!"
It seems the delay stems from Louboutin's desire to have flawless attic windows. Inspired by the windows at the Palace of Versailles, Louboutin decided he wanted to replicate the design in his own abode. Unhappy with the builder's first attempt, he made them start over from scratch. "I can't have a window with a bad arch. I don't need to reach perfection everywhere, but when it's an olive shape it needs to be an olive shape, otherwise it's just another random window."
It's this attention to precision that has separated Louboutin from other contemporary shoe designers. While others have neglected the sole of their creations, Louboutin has made it his signature.
Invention
The tale of how he invented the red sole is now part of fashion folklore: After spying an assistant painting her nails with a scarlet polish, Louboutin took the bottle and painted the sole on one of his sketches. He knew immediately the impact the seemingly small design element achieved. "If you look at a woman as she passes by, it's the last thing that you're going to see. Boom. It's like a flashlight," he explains.
The red sole is reported to be the source of many courtships, the modern-day equivalent of a fan or handkerchief that were once used to gain the attention of the opposite sex.
Louboutin says he knows of at least one marriage as a result of his stilettos. The bride in question came to his shop in 1993 begging him to make her wedding shoes. She explained that she had met her soon-to-be husband when he stopped her in the street after glimpsing her red-soled Christian Louboutins. "She told me her husband was a very shy man and that he would never have had the courage to stop her in the street if it was not for her shoes," he says.
Louboutin complied with her request, designing a pair of white, velvet nine-inch stilettos, complete with a bow at the toe. The design, he says, was to convey a sense that the bride was personally gift-wrapped by Louboutin as a present for the groom.
"What I like about fashion or design is when it becomes a conversation — a link between people," he says.
"That's why I like it when men give me compliments about my shoes. I know it speaks to the love they have of their wife."
All husbands should take note.
Comfort vs glamour
"I don't think my shoes should be uncomfortable for the sake of fashion. If a woman is uncomfortable, it's reflected in her face and it doesn't leave a nice aperture. But I don't like shoes that look comfortable."
Burlesque dreams
Louboutin's early inspiration was from the showgirls of Paris, so it's no surprise he admires burlesque dancer Dita von Teese. "When we met, we linked immediately," he says. "She epitomises the perfect showgirl and what I like about showgirls… the perfect style, the beauty, the movement… she's living as in a dream."
Something local
An avid traveller with residences in several destinations including Egypt, Louboutin is a frequent visitor to the Middle East. He says whenever he is in Dubai, he is struck by the elegant image of the traditional dishdasha.
"Some form of the abaya can be seen everywhere but the dishdasha is barely seen out of the country. It's actually quite stunning for me. The fact that it's super, super, super white and pure is really beautiful."
He says if he was to design a shoe specifically for Dubai, it would be a shiny sandal. "I'd work from the fact that it's coming from the desert and it would be more about the stones in very, very light colours."
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