“It’s difficult for me to shrink, you know, ‘the ideal’ or ‘an ideal’ of a woman in one person,” says French designer and shoe mogul Christian Louboutin in an interview with British Vogue.
Louboutin knows better than anyone that not all women can be defined by a single article of clothing, and that even our fabulous pumps can be seen as symbols of our inability to change with the times. The designer got hung up on the concept of the nude shoe and decided to redefine what “nude” means in an era of inclusivity. “I was showing base shoes to different people and I’d say, ‘What is the color?’ And most people were saying ‘flesh,” and I thought well, so, that’s definitely something to correct. It’s not ‘flesh,’ it’s ‘nude,’ and nude has to fit with different skin complexions.”
The result was these gorgeous Degrastrass clear bejeweled pumps with different toned heels, which are made to blend in with the wearer’s skin tone to create the impression of a nude shoe. These are, truly, shoes for every woman—so long as that woman has a spare grand in her checking account.
(Learn how to pronounce Louboutin, a notoriously difficult word to pronounce, here.)
