Since 2019, Christian Louboutin has been at the forefront of the shifting definitions of masculinity in men’s fashion. What started out as a series of modest heeled boots and brogues back in the brand’s fall-winter ’20 men’s collection has moved forward incrementally each season, leading the way — heels first — on the conversation about gender fluidity and how fashion is shaping what it will look like, both on the runways and in real life.
Earlier this year, the designer introduced “Our Angels,” a collection of gender-neutral heels done in an extended sizing range from 36 to 46. Now, Louboutin has given another view of men in heels with the brand’s spring summer ’23 men’s collection, which debuted last week at Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
It wasn’t all clickbait party shoes, though. Yes, the collection had those, in a series of platform boots with stacked heels, a continuation of the “Our Angels” styles and silhouettes. A pair of plexi platform boots with a stacked heel and another, done in a vibrant pattern of paillettes, stood out like trophies at the brand’s Paris presentation at Le Centre Georges Pompidou on June 23.
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But there were other styles, too, and in its entirety, the collection suggested a well rounded wardrobe for a new generation of the sartorial-focused man. Said evening heels were tempered by a series of graphic black-and-red, lug-soled boots, named “Dune.” Rounding out the concise collection was a series of hiking boots with puffy, snowboot-like uppers and the brand’s Techno CL bags, done in a perforated leather with the brand’s signature stud accents.
It was a collection that had not just something for everyone — but perhaps a little bit of everything for the modern man.
