Christian Louboutin

A Louboutin heel is an engineering decision before it is a styling one. Pitch, toe length and where the topline is cut decide how the foot sits and how the leg reads, and the house has spent its life refining a handful of lasts rather than chasing a new one every season.

So the women's range works as variations on known quantities: the long, narrow pointed pump; the rounder, more forgiving toe; the platform that buys height back from the pitch. Around them sit flats, espadrilles, boots and sneakers, many of them spiked or studded, all finished with the same red underfoot. Patent, suede, glitter and calf change the character without touching the shape.