Christian Louboutin, a French shoe designer, is the best designer there is. Although his life may seem fabu' he used to sneak out of school regularly, from the age of 12, to watch the showgirls at some Paris nightclubs, because he was fascinated by their costumes, and cites this as his main inspiration for becoming a shoe designer: "[The showgirls] influenced me a lot. If you like high heels, it's really the ultimate high heel - it's all about the legs, how they

carry themselves, the embellishment of the body. They are the ultimate icons." Although Louboutin faced much opposition following his decision to leave school so early, he claims that his resolve was strengthened after watching an interview on TV with Sophia Loren in which she introduced her sister, saying she had to leave school when she was only 12 but when she turned 50 she got her degree. "Everybody applauded! And I thought, 'Well, at least if I regret it I'm going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!"

While women have always been his predominant inspiration, Louboutin, a landscape and garden fanatic, often looks to nature for ideas. Starting out, he tried covering his shoes in fish scales. Another, more successful idea was embedding hydrangea petals in a clear silicone heel. He even tapped into the recycling trend with his "trash" shoes, which incorporated old métro tickets and café receipts in the heels. "He looks at everything," says his close friend Diane von Furstenberg. "His shoes are like sculptures, objects, jewels." But Christian Louboutin knows that women's most desired treasures are the ones they can wear.