Why Louboutin Shoes Are So Expensive

2018-09-26 15:00:06

by Business Insider

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Christian Louboutin s trademark red bottomed shoes have become iconic Beyoncé wore a custom pair of boots for her Coachella performance and Cardi B slipped on a pair of bloody shoes for her Bodak Yellow music video But why do these heels cost hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business finance tech retail and more Following is a transcript of the video Narrator What makes these shoes worth almost 800 Christian Louboutin is the mastermind behind these iconic red bottomed shoes It s safe to say his footwear has stepped into the mainstream Celebrities all over the world wear them You know the ones with the high heels and the red bottoms These expensive these is red bottoms These is bloody shoes Narrator Louboutin even had the red bottoms trademarked The signature Louboutin pumps start at 695 The most expensive pair nearly 6 000 So how did this craze start Christian Louboutin had the idea for red soles in 1993 An employee was painting her nails red Louboutin snagged the bottle and painted the soles of a prototype shoe Just like that the red soles were born So what makes these shoes worth the cost In 2013 when the New York Times asked Louboutin why his shoes are so expensive he blamed production costs Louboutin said It s expensive to make shoes in Europe From 2008 to 2013 he said his company s production costs had doubled as the euro strengthened against the dollar and competition increased for quality materials from factories in Asia David Mesquita the co owner of Leather Spa says craftsmanship also plays a part in the shoes high price tag His company works directly with Louboutin to repair its shoes repainting and replacing the red soles David Mesquita I mean there s a lot of things that go into the design of a shoe and the making of a shoe Most importantly I think is who s designing it who s manufacturing it and also what materials they re using to make the shoes Whether you re talking about feathers rhinestones or exotic materials there s so much attention to detail that they put into their manufacturing and designing of their shoes Narrator For instance these 3 595 Louboutins are embellished with Swarovski Crystals And these raccoon fur boots cost 1 995 When it all comes down to it people are paying for the status symbol Producer Spencer Alben bought a pair of Louboutins for her wedding Spencer Alben It makes me sound so stuck up but I love the red soles because it s such like a fashion icon symbol There s something about them that when you see them in a picture you instantly know what those are So it s like a status symbol I guess which makes me sound terrible They were over 1 000 which when I say that now is insane for one pair of shoes that you re probably never gonna wear again It s like something that everyone knows so the second you see the red bottoms it s like I know what those are I know what those cost And it s so superficial that we care about that but it really is something that is universal You see that and you instantly know what those are and it s something special So I think something as silly as the color of the sole on the shoe makes them so special because it s universally identifiable Narrator Would you drop 1 000 for red bottomed shoes