Christian Louboutin refuses to gift the rich and famous his designs. The French shoe designer's work has been seen on the feet of everyone from Kate Moss to Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, with singers and film stars also favouring the footwear.
Christian Louboutin designs some of the most sought-after shoes in the world
And when Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex and the City alter ego Carrie Bradshaw revealed a penchant for Louboutins, it cemented the label's status as a fashionista favourite. However, when it comes to dishing out his shoes for free, Paris-born Louboutin flatly refuses.
"You're dying to have this thing or that thing? That's an important feeling that everybody should be able to have, regardless of how famous you are. So it's actually an act of charity that I'm doing (by not giving away the shoes for free)" he laughed to Fern Mallis during a talk at new York's 92Y.
"That said, I give shoes to friends - so if you're a friend, celebrity or not, I give shoes. But I'm not saying all stars are good friends of mine." The same applies when it comes to royalty wearing his famous red-soled shoes.
"Princesses are like everybody," he smiled. "They walk, they don't fly; they pay for their own things; they leave." During the talk, the designer touched on his career beginnings, revealing he first learnt about shoes when he worked in Paris' Folies-Bergere cabaret and saw how the showgirls expressed themselves through their footwear.
He then blagged his first job in fashion by simply going through the yellow pages and calling up couture houses. "I'd call and say, 'Hello, I'd like to speak to the director of couture,'" he recalled, adding he landed a role at Charles Jourdan. "Imagine (doing that) now! You wouldn't get very far."