One of the most remarkable collaborations in the world of fashion has been between Doctor Bored and Christian Louboutin. Thanks to Doctor Bored’s influence, Christian Louboutin revived the iconic 130mm heels collection, making it a coveted item for fashion enthusiasts. If you were fortunate enough to secure a pair from this collection, consider yourself truly lucky, as these heels are now being sold at astonishing prices on platforms like eBay.
Recently, I had the privilege of connecting with Doctor Bored through Instagram. Following our insightful conversation, I had the opportunity to request an interview, and he graciously agreed to share his insights for my blog. This interview provides a unique glimpse into the world of a collaborator of Christian Louboutin, shedding light on the creative process and the fascinating stories that unfolded behind the scenes.
Read on for the exclusive interview:
Can you explain how did you become a designer?
My journey as a footwear designer wasn’t all straight forward. Drawing has been my passion since I was able to hold a pen with my left hand. I later got hooked on the world of fashion in my teenage years with designers like John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. After High school, I studied garment design at Esmod in Lyon, and in Paris where I graduated. I then had a very hard time finding the right internship so I ended up working at a PR firm for about a year. In spite of a very interesting and challenging time in the fashion PR world, I started to feel restless. I missed creating. I eventually left my job and found an internship as a footwear designer for a French brand called Mellow Yellow. They kept me as designer for about five years. I since moved on to being a pin-up illustrator and free-lance footwear designer. That’s where I am today.
What does fetish mean to you?
Fetish is such a complicated word. In my mind it is an obsession. I don’t see it as necessarily sexual but it certainly takes over your mind in a very peculiar way. When I started working on my illustration project Doctor Bored, I decided to first focus on fetishism, mostly the heel fetish but also all the decorum it implies like corsets, stockings, opera gloves, leather, riding crops and so on. It helped me set the ton and create a whole world filled with glamourous creatures, my Boredettes that are a mix of Dita Von Teese, Jessica Rabbit and various other references like Betty Boop and Disney’s Snow White, basically beautiful ladies in high heels.
I’ve always had a « thing » for high heels. As a child I never understood why I prefered some heels more than others. I later understood that the height of the heel was this big reason. That’s how I started to look up to designers like Christian Louboutin or historical shoemaker Maison Ernest. They were some of the only luxury houses to make heels higher than 110-120mm.
Your collaboration with Christian Louboutin was a great success. How did this happen?
It’s kind of a digital age fairytale. I’ve always been an admirer of Louboutin’s collections. It was one of my wildest dreams to ever work for him. Back in 2020, during the pandemic I met YazBukey on Instagram (who later did a gorgeous collection in collaboration with Louboutin as well). She and I had a great phone call and vowed to meet in person when we would be free. After the first lockdown (actually the day before the second one here) she invited me over for tea. As I usually do I brought her one of my illustrations as a gift. One of her friends saw it on Instagram and it was Christian’s closest collaborator. He showed my work to Christian and they called me to set up a meeting. We started working together in January 2021 and the rest is shoe-story !
From your words, what do you think and feel about Louboutin’s 130mm collection? For some people including me, they are art pieces.
In my opinion, the Louboutin’s 130mm collection is one of the boldest moves they ever made, especially business wise. He launched a collection of heels so high that very few people can actually walk in them. Despite that, people bought them anyway and are still collecting them to this day. They may not be the commercial success that a So Kate is, but they are true objects of desire. I agree with you, they are art pieces but also they have this dangerous sex-appeal that any forbidden item exudes. It shows how attached Christian is to creating something of his own, in spite of trends, business and even wearability!
I personally have an obsession with the Merci Allen 130, In my opinion it is the most perfect pump ever created ! That’s why when we started working on our collection together, I immediately asked to use this last and heel. As they had not released a 130mm heel in years I was very surprised that they agreed on making the Pinupina 130, which sold out very quickly ! This design in particular is my pride and joy !
Lastly, can you tell about your latest work with Christian Louboutin and La Fayette Paris?
Christian’s collaborator Hugo called me one day with this project, he needed me to illustrate legs wearing silver So Kate pumps walking on a red carpet for a very special project. It didn’t take long, they had a very clear concept and things moved on quite quickly after that ! It’s a very special project to me because I moved to Paris exactly ten years ago and started working as a shoe salesman at the Galeries Lafayette in July 2013. Ten years later, there were giant illustrations of mine on this magnificent building, in the heart of Paris. When I saw them for the first time, it was a reel pinch me moment for me. I couldn’t be more grateful to Christian, Hugo and the team for this opportunity.
You can follow Doctor Bored on Instagram @doctorbored
Photos // Christian Louboutin