If ever two minds were fated to conspire over a pair of shoes, it would be John Galliano and Christian Louboutin. Their histories, both personal and sartorial, are entwined, from the giddy fashion anarchy of 1980s Paris to the couture salons that have shaped their respective empires. Now, in an inevitable yet surprising twist, the duo unveils a collaborative capsule collection of covetable shoes.
Debuted in Maison Margiela’s Spring 2024 Artisanal show, this collection – Maison Margiela by Christian Louboutin and Christian Louboutin by Maison Margiela – is a study in radical cross-pollination. Galliano, ever the couturier, and Louboutin, the shoemaker – both with an infallible eye for seduction, engage in a dialogue of codes and contrasts. The results are three styles under the Margiela name, four under Louboutin’s, all dissecting, distorting, and reimagining the very essence of what a shoe can be.
Think tabi toes with Louboutin’s signature lacquered red soles, towering heels emerging from the ghostly transparency of Margiela’s trompe-l’œil illusions, and silhouettes that flicker between eras and attitudes. It’s a meeting of high romance and rogue sensuality, craftsmanship pushed to the brink of fantasy.
More than a mere collaboration, it’s a full circle moment in fashion history if you think about it. Martin Margiela, the original founder of his namesake brand launched the Tabi shoe in S/S ‘89, drenching the model’s soles in red paint – the color of Louboutin’s now iconic red soles – leaving paint stained hoof marks on the white catwalk. Like blood on the dance floor. Instagrammable before Instagram existed. How’s that for pivotal closure?
The collection lands in select boutiques and across the digital realms of both Houses on March 12, 2025. Two legacies and the power of unforgettable shoes.
