Master shoe designer Christian Louboutin's beautiful designs have graced red carpets the world over and celebrated film maker David Lynch's films and television series have nothing short of a cult status. Now, in a daring creative collaboration the two creative forces have incorporated their penchant for all things fetish in a provocative and beautiful exhibition.
Shown for the first time in Asia, the exhibition features pieces especially created by Louboutin which take his extravagant footwear into the domain of 'shoe sculptures'. Comfort and wearability are no longer factors in his designs, allowing Louboutin to push his artistic creativity to a whole new level.
From towering stilettos, to shoes with inner and outer spikes, these are highly fetished objects, made all the more powerful through the lens of Lynch.
Photographed on the feet of sublimely erotic models, the exhibition takes the fetishism found in each of their works to a new level. The photographs are signature Lynch, dark, brooding, full of visual codes and fetished erotic nudes. The compositions balance a fine line between the torturous potential of the shoe and the graceful serenity of their wearer.
Parisian born Louboutin has been designing shoes since the late 1970s and his highly sought after designs have led to an impressive clientele list from Angelina Jolie to Princess Caroline of Monaco.
David Lynch, American director, screenwriter, producer and artist emerged in the late 1970s as a new creative force within the film world. Nominated for three Oscars (Elephant Man 1980, Blue Velvet 1986 and Mulholland Drive 2001) and winner several times at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, Lynch has consistently created new departures in film making. FETISH sees Lynch in the guise of photographer, directing the models and composing visually arresting and extreme images.
'David Lynch asked me to design shoes for his exhibit at the Cartier Foundation. David Lynch is one of the greatest living film-makers. Since his films are extremely coded, I wanted fetishist shoes, since that fantasy also obeys codes. A lot of people only see the shoe as a walking accessory. If ever a wardrobe had a fetish object, it is the woman's shoe, even without heels. It has the allure of a sacred totem.'Christian Louboutin
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