Paris, October 3, 2025

After the spectacular SS25 water show at Piscine Molitor, Christian Louboutin raises the bar again with the Loubi Show SS26: this time the Dojo Arena (14th arrondissement) transforms into an American football stadium for a five-act celebration merging sports, dance, and red sole signature.

Second Collaboration: LaChapelle + Blanca Li

Christian Louboutin reunites the dream team: David LaChapelle (American photographer and music video director) for artistic direction, Blanca Li for choreography. After the success of the first "Loubi Show" (synchronized swimming SS25), the trio delivers an even louder spectacle: American homecoming reimagined through a haute lens.

The Star-Studded Cast

Jaden Smith – Louboutin's first men's Creative Director (appointed the month before) – arrives in total fire-red look with football shoulder pads and coordinated shoes. Perfect headliner.Front row: Jenna Ortega, Gwendoline Christie, Tessa Thompson, Phoebe Tonkin, Pom Klementieff, Jameela Jamil, Ester Expósito.

Guests walk across the customized green field with brand logo and light installations of iconic pumps on the sides, pose, then sit front row next to Louboutin.

The Show in Five Acts

Act 1 – The Opening: Model in heels enters with lawnmower, metaphorically "preparing" the stage.Act 2 – Marching Band: Musical band, majorette with baton twirler, seahorse mascot (Louboutin's favorite animal) in red boots.Act 3 – Cheerleaders & Live Performance: Cheerleaders in motion + live performance by Milo Throtton (aka Asphalt, French singer) dressed as football player – the high school heartthrob in the narrative.Act 4 – Dance and Acrobatics: Dancers embody football players, acrobats, kinetic choreography.Act 5 – Homage to Craft: Finale with Ballerina Ultima (created 2007) reinterpreted as giant candles atop a cake. Strass-adorned shoes, straddling the boundary between costume and sculpture, worn by dancers and presented as centerpiece.Grand Finale: All performers converge on the field. Christian Louboutin leaves his seat dressed in uniform, becomes bandmaster with tambourine in hand, joins LaChapelle and Li under an explosion of confetti.

The SS26 Shoes

Inspired by ballet's elegance and discipline:

  • Cassia Annmac: elevated leg warmers
  • Cassiasticina: homage to classic ballet slipper
  • Ruben: Cassia's menswear debut
  • Ballerina Ultima reinterpreted: towering strass, sculpture/costume boundary

All presented in movement – twirling, kicking, dancing. Not traditional runway but total performance.

The Concept: Homecoming Haute

Louboutin: "After the aquatic theme, we wanted to capture the communal spirit of American homecoming celebrations, reimagined through a fashion lens."

David LaChapelle brings theatrical sensibility: surreal high-gloss characters, chic seahorse mascot, Parisian majorette with lawnmower. Elegance and excess are never mutually exclusive.Blanca Li translates sport into art: every movement choreographed, every cheerleader a dancer, every player a performer.

Our Visual Twins Perspective

Photographing the Loubi Show means documenting fashion as performance art. Christian Louboutin doesn't do traditional runway shows – he creates total experiences where footwear becomes protagonist of a larger narrative.

The Dojo Arena transformed into American stadium, the green field with luminous pumps on the sides, Jaden Smith arriving in fire-red with shoulder pads – everything is designed for maximum visual impact. There's no minimalism or subtlety. There's loud celebration of craftsmanship, movement, joy.

Interesting thematic choice: after Paris Olympics 2024 (which Louboutin celebrated with synchronized swimming SS25), he continues surfing the sport-fashion wave with American football – a sport that in Europe remains exotic, theatrical, spectacular. Perfect for Louboutin and LaChapelle.

Louboutin: Master of Spectacle

After SS25 at Piscine Molitor (synchronized swimming, Miss Z stiletto as tribute to Zendaya, LP performing, LaChapelle and Louboutin diving into the pool in the finale), the brand confirms: it doesn't do traditional presentations.

The "Loubi Show" format – born from collaboration with LaChapelle and Blanca Li – is a declaration: Louboutin shoes aren't meant to be viewed static on a runway. They're lived in movement – dancing, swimming, cheerleading, twirling.

Each show is a cultural event generating talk, social content, lasting memory. It's not fashion that whispers – it's fashion that celebrates, shouts, has fun. And with the red sole signature that since 1992 identifies every Louboutin creation, the message is clear: luxury can be loud, joyful, theatrical.

Follow @visual.twins to discover when shoes become performance art.