The Pigalle is Christian Louboutin’s most successful, red bottomed high heel shoe. And he’s not in any doubt about it: “The iconic Pigalle is simple and balanced—I’ve never seen anyone who didn’t look good in it,” Christian Louboutin told his social media followers back in 2014.
Perhaps you own a pair (or more) of Pigalles. Or maybe you are looking to invest in an iconic statement shoe. Either way, we hope you enjoy our essential guide to Christian Louboutin’s Pigalle high heels, the shiny black pump with a stiletto heel and famous red sole.
About Pigalle
With its trademark red sole and revealing toe cleavage, the classic Pigalle pump is Christian Louboutin’s most popular and revered stiletto of his 20+ year design career.
The shoe is named Pigalle after one of Louboutin’s favorite neighborhoods in Paris: the Quartier Pigalle is home to the famous Moulin Rogue cabaret as well as dozens of other theatres and shows.
Like other shoe designers, Louboutin found that the simplest shoe designs were the most complex to create because you don’t have embellishments to hide the line of the shoe. “The Pigalle pump, the classic Louboutin style, took me many years to create and to obtain something close to the perfect line,” he explained in an interview with Selfridges.
Pigalle was the first 5 inch heel of Louboutin’s that women bought in big numbers over a significant period of time. The shoe was developed for the Autumn/Winter 2004/2005 season.
Pigalle was subsequently developed in a range of different heel heights besides the original 120mm (5 inches) shown in this article. They include the more walkable 100mm (4 inches) and 85mm (3.4 inches) versions.
Since debuting in 2004, the shoe has also been produced in a vast range of colors and of diverse materials including python and watersnake.
Spiked versions and even flat versions of the Pigalle are on sale right now. However the classic shiny black patent leather red-soled shoe on a 5 inch heel is the original and still very popular despite trends to lower heels.
Whatever its heel height, Pigalle is certainly the most famous and recognisable Louboutin of all time. So much so that Louboutin has himself described it as “the design that encapsulates my career.”
Christian Louboutin described the design aesthetics of Pigalle further in his 2011 monograph (Amazon affiliate link), stating:
When a shoe becomes iconic, it’s reduced to its essence, in this case, a sharp point and a dizzying height. In reality it’s just one line. If you draw the leg, you’ll see the continuous line of the ankle, the back of the foot and the heel.”
Louboutin also explained that Pigalle was ” fairly timeless” and “a shoe that lasts a lifetime“.
Back in 2010 Louboutin told the Times that Pigalle could transform a woman’s looks. “It’s so subtle in that it adds something sexy to the body,” he said, “but you don’t immediately realise that it’s the shoe that is making the difference.”
Most expensive Pigalles of all time?
Back in August 2013, we discovered the Pigalle Strass on Christian Louboutin’s website. This version of Pigalle seems to have been the most expensive Pigalle heel ever.
The shoes are gold colored in crystal ring strass (also known as rhinestone). Each piece of crystal on the 5 inch heels is itself surrounded by a golden ring.
Even back then the shoe was rare: it was only available in one size, a 38.5, when we looked. Of course the Pigalle Strass has long since sold out!
And the price? This elite heel retailed for $3,395 from the Christian Louboutin website, back in the days when an ordinary Pigalle in black patent leather cost $625.
Louboutin has made plenty of classic pumps (including the relatively new celeb favourite the So Kate) but Pigalle will always be the indispensable heel in any designer shoe wardrobe.
This all unfortunately means that Pigalle is so popular that it can be difficult to lay your hands on a pair. Try your luck at Louboutin’s website where it retails for $625.
1 thought on “Essential guide to Christian Louboutin’s Pigalle high heels”
Comments are closed.