Tucked away in a quaint Parisian courtyard on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, you’ll find Christian Louboutin’s atelier. It’s here where the world’s most exclusive shoes are hand crafted by a team of four elite artisans. In a room the size of an average flat, custom made shoes are conceived from concept to fit to construction. Some of the brand’s most notorious shoes have been incepted in this room, from the David Lynch Fetish collaboration, to “Feu” pieces for the Crazy Horse and the crystal butterfly emblazoned Cinderella shoe. In other words, a lot of magic happens between the four walls of Christian Louboutin’s Paris atelier.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the atelier is our Made to Measure service. One of the best-kept secrets in the fashion world, the process is unique and utterly luxurious. In our salon, one-of-a-kind shoes and boots are meticulously created from your personal measurements, and crafted with care by expert hands. The possibilities are endless! In the words of Christian Louboutin, “It is an opportunity for the people who love my shoes to step into our world and create something truly one-of-a-kind.” Whether your imagination is running wild with the possibilities, or you simply have trouble finding the perfect fit, Made to Measure is a bespoke service that allows for the ultimate in customization.
Step 1: Faire un voyage! Pack your bags; it’s time to go to Paris! Each private client’s perfectly sculpted pair of shoes begins with a trip to the Atelier, located in Paris’s 1st Arrondissement. Can you say, “Où est Christian Louboutin, s’il vous plaît?”
Step 2: Once you enter Louboutin’s inner sanctum, the Atelier director measures your feet at more than a dozen key points. You will then step into foam moulds, creating detailed, three-dimensional imprints of your feet, ensuring a perfect fit.
Step 3: Next, select your preferred silhouette, including heel height and toe shape, as well as your desired material and embellishments. Each shoe style, including Louboutin classics like the Pigalle, Fifi and So Kate, requires a different, custom-made last, and all embellishments – be they bows, sequins or strass – are applied painstakingly by hand.
Step 4: After you select your last, our artisans begin the meticulous work of Last Adjustment, or the sculpting of three-dimensional casts of your foot (now that’s a souvenir)! The process commences with the addition of layers of leather to a standard shoe last and reshaping them to match the measurements of your feet. Say “À bientôt!” – our team will take it from here.
Step 5: Once the mould is made, artisans create the first draft of your shoe by hand in leather, no matter the final materials selected. All of the elements are hand-cut to your specifications, and then passed along to another specialist for sewing and assembly. Step 6: Next, the cut and sewn elements are brought together with the structural elements of your shoe. The upper, or top of the shoe, is given three-dimensional form by stretching and positioning it on the last, which was sculpted earlier in the process. At this stage, the shoe is nearly finished…with the exception of special embellishments like hand-placed strass crystals.
Step 7: Once the design, development and bichonnage have concluded, your shoes, made to measure for you (and you alone), then go through a final quality check by the Atelier. Rest assured, no shoe leaves the Atelier without the approval of Christian Louboutin himself, and without the brand’s signature red-lacquered soles.
Step 8: Bon Voyage! When the first shoe is complete, it’s time to make your way back to the City of Lights for a private fitting in the Atelier. We know you love Paris, that’s why the “drafts” may take several adjustments before reaching their final, impeccably finished state. Your feedback is encouraged at every step of the process, which means you’re guaranteed to leave our Atelier with a pair of custom shoes you absolutely love.
Et voila! You are now the owner of the most unique pair of shoes in the world!
