Christian Louboutin’s much-awaited Flamencaba collection, created in collaboration with Spanish actress Rossy De Palma, is now here. The designer celebrated the drop with a fete in Los Angeles last night, where celebrity guests included Avril Lavigne, Tiffany Haddish, Evan Ross, Sara Sampaio, and Dascha Polanco.
Lavigne wore a shimmery black long-sleeved top with black-and-blue patchwork pants and white pointy Louboutin heels. Haddish, meanwhile, looked striking in a bright red ruched bodycon dress and black pointed-toe Louboutin pumps.
The stars gathered at Carondelet House in looks that highlighted the vibrant collection, which is based on Spain’s flamenco dance and culture. A percentage of proceeds will go to Centro Coreográfico María Pagés, an organization that promotes dance and Spain’s cultural heritage for the benefit of children.
Bazaar.com spoke to Louboutin about the collection, which includes a fun tote bag, silky red high heels, and plenty of tassels.
How was this collaboration born?
Rossy and I are good friends. She’s living in Madrid, and one day she came to me with one specific idea to create a nice flamenco pair of shoes. We have a common friend who is a great flamenco dancer, María Pagés, and she has this company of flamenco dancers. She told me, “Flamenco shoes are very specific shoes. You should make a really beautiful version of them.” With her company, María also helps support young girls with heavy difficulties, so I decided that this collection would also help that foundation.
What inspires you about Spain and flamenco?
It’s a really beautiful, great country, and in flamenco there is also the fact that men have always worn heels. That has always been a very inspirational thing for me, because it’s really a culture where men have heels, and that is pretty rare in France and everywhere in the fashion industry. After the 18th century, 19th century, every shoe for men became flat, and in America you never had heels for men.
There’s a bit of a fun, childish element to the little illustration of you and Rossy on the bag that feels like a great contrast to the very sexy, elegant silhouettes of the shoes.
Well, when I was a teenager, I remember going to Spain and buying a lot of flamenco postcards of couples—the woman in the red dress dancing. So the idea was to introduce that type of tactic on the bag and on the shoe. I’ve also never looked so thin [as I do in that illustration].
I needed to mimic Rossy’s character, her mentality. She’s a fun person, so she would only do something if it’s for fun—though deep down, she’s a very serious, really deep, creative person.
How was the process of making this collection different from others you’ve done?
It’s the first time that I am involving someone else. It was a ping-pong scene. We joked: “After Nixon in China, Rossy in Paris.”
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
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