Christian Louboutin has a thing for theatrical fashion showcases. For its spring/summer 2025 presentation, for instance, the luxury house had members of the French Olympic artistic swimming team perform in water while wearing its Miss Z pumps. The following season, ballet-inspired shoes made their debut on a football field. By comparison, the brand’s latest show, staged in Paris on 24 June, felt almost restrained, though no less ambitious.
The occasion was the unveiling of the men’s spring/summer 2027 collection, the sophomore outing from Jaden Smith, 27, who was appointed last year as the French house’s first men’s creative director, charged with shaping its footwear and leather accessories. Announcing the appointment, Louboutin, the designer, described Smith as “a natural fit for the Maison”—a partnership that, a year on, appears to be settling into its stride.
Inside the historic halls of the Palais Brongniart, Smith created an immersive installation that resembled a futuristic Stonehenge drenched in the signature red. Then came the models showcasing the shoes: claw-toed slip-ons that looked as though they belonged to Shrek, blush-pink boots, boxy-toed Oxfords, and ballerina slippers reimagined as elegant evening shoes. There were classic formal styles as well, embellished with beads around the toe, followed by similarly sculpted pairs finished in a black-to-red gradient reminiscent of a shiny new sportscar. The accessories, too, felt as though they had emerged from the costume department of a sci-fi epic. Multi-pocket vests designed for a generation juggling iPads, smartphones, smart glasses and chargers resembled protective armour more than traditional tailoring. The bags echoed that same philosophy, marrying functionality with fantasy.
Each product reinforced the new world Smith is building with Louboutin: it is neither overly playful nor conventionally formal, but sculptural, streetwear-ish and avant-garde, challenging established dress codes without straying too far from the signature silhouettes.
It is a design language that feels instinctive to Smith, whose career has spanned acting, music and fashion. Since his teenage years, he has blurred conventions—from wearing skirts, colouring his hair in pastels to co-founding the apparel label MSFTSrep at the age of 14.
In an interview with Lounge, he talks about his plans for Christian Louboutin’s menswear world. Edited excerpts:
It’s going to be a year in September since you took charge. How’s the experience been so far?
I’m fortunate to be working with a dream team within a company that has such an incredible history and legacy as we build this new world together.
But there’s something special about seeing ideas you’ve carried since childhood finally exist in the real world. I’m looking at my bag right now as we’re talking, and I remember always wanting to travel with bags like these. They make me feel like a superhero with superpowers.
That’s the feeling I want to create for other people. I want them to feel like superheroes themselves.
It’s not every day that a luxury fashion house with a long history decides to work with someone so young. Was it overwhelming?
Honestly, we need more of these kinds of radical collaborations—people from different generations, backgrounds and disciplines coming together to pursue ambitious ideas and create the kind of world they want to see. And I’m not just talking about fashion. History is full of examples of what can happen when people with different experiences and perspectives work together.
Your first collection received mixed reactions…
I always knew the reaction would be like that because that’s often what happens when people encounter something new at its very beginning. The biggest difference between the January show and now is that people are starting to see not just the beginning of the story, but where that story might go.
I think of it like watching a film. Sometimes you watch the first couple of minutes and you’re not quite sure how you feel about it yet. But then the plot develops and you begin to understand what the film is trying to do. That’s what this journey has felt like to me. The January show was the start of the movie—the opening credits rolling and the first signal that the story was beginning. What we presented this time felt more like the first film scene.
What story are you trying to tell?
It’s a multigenerational story. We’re creating shoes for an entire universe of men: the grandfather, the father, the eldest son and the youngest son.
The grandfather needs a pair that speaks to his world. The father lives in a more modern world, so we’re designing for him as well. Then there’s the eldest son, who wants to stay connected to the traditions of the generations before him, even as he leads a very different life. And then there’s the youngest son, who’s rebelling, questioning conventions. That’s my generation.
But I’m not going to give you an outline of exactly where the story is going. Like a movie, you have to follow along and interpret it for yourself. Because fashion isn’t just about fashion. It’s about creating purpose, and purpose can mean different things to different people.
How’s it been working with Christian as your boss?
Like everyone else, I am just trying to impress my boss (smiles). Our cabins are directly next to each other and separated by a thin piece of glass. So he can see whatever I am doing, my moodboards, photographs, and I can see what he's working on, who’s he talking to.
Building MSFTSrep over the past 15 years prepared me for this moment. I wanted to step into a creative director role within a company that wasn't entirely my own and to have the opportunity to learn from someone who has already built something extraordinary.
Being able to grow under a mentor and learn from that experience is what allows you to reach the next level. Every Jedi needs a Jedi Master to teach them and show them the ropes.
What have you learnt from Christian so far?
That he is an architect who builds buildings and still manages to create these wonderful shoes. And that he draws inspiration from shoes for the buildings and from buildings for the shoes.
I’ve learnt so much about his design philosophy, his love for travel, his obsession with Egypt, about the lines on shoes, craftsmanship and extreme luxury. I’ve learnt how generations of craftspersons are all working together with him on perfecting one specific part of a shoe for the past 10 years and it is still in production.
At MSFTSrep, I was making skateboards and building products on a very different scale. Here, I’m learning what it means to be part of a global company—the level of organisation, long-term planning and precision that goes into everything. It’s been an incredible learning curve.
What’s your kind of perfect shoe?
I don’t have an ideal shoe in mind because there’s a different perfect shoe for every person and situation. What I’m chasing isn’t the perfect shoe itself—it’s the feeling that comes with finding it. And that feeling is universal. It’s the moment you put something on and think, “This is me.” The version of yourself that was blurry or imagined suddenly becomes clear.
I remember feeling that way as a child in my Spider-Man costume, in my yellow duck boots or when I got my first pair of skate shoes. Those objects changed how I saw myself.
Fashion isn’t just something you wear; it’s a feeling. It’s the feeling you get when you put on the right outfit and step outside believing you’re going to win that day. And winning means something different to everyone. Sometimes it’s closing a business deal. Sometimes it’s simply finding the confidence to step outside.
How has your experience as an actor and a musical artist influenced your design career?
It all ties in. My background in music led me to work with the orchestra and create music that I believe worked for the event. We took one of my trap songs and reimagined it through the language of elegance, performed by a full orchestra in a historic building in France. As an African-American creative director coming from the US and working in Europe, I’m interested in creating compositions that represent the meeting of those different perspectives and traditions.
As an actor, I am inspired by Joseph Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey and the monomyth—the storytelling framework that underpins everything from The Matrix to Star Wars and Avatar. The ideas of crossing the threshold, facing challenges and returning transformed are central to so many of the stories we connect with. We use that same framework to create the characters and narratives that inhabit the Christian Louboutin men’s universe.
What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion is our way of communicating something about ourselves to people we may never meet. It's a conversation with strangers across the street, with people we'll never have the chance to speak to or hear from directly. Through what we wear, we're still communicating with them, even if no words are exchanged.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I have this unshakable belief that as humans we’re meant to keep moving forward. The more we push boundaries and keep taking ideas further, the more we inspire others and open up new possibilities for them.
Fashion can have a butterfly effect. The right crazy idea could perhaps inspire a child today who grows up to discover a unified theory of physics tomorrow—that’s how the butterfly effect works. Like Tupac once said: “I’m not saying I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world.” And he did.
There is one person in particular who inspires me: Nikola Tesla. So much of the modern world can be traced back to his ideas and inventions—from alternating current and remote-control technology to the foundations of wireless communication, iPhones, drones. He reminds me how far one person’s imagination can reach.
What do you do when you're not working?
I spend a lot of time studying different things. I'm fascinated by ancient temples carved into mountains and structures that still make us ask: how did people build this? Those kinds of mysteries really inspire me.
Your appointment sparked conversations not just about your creative background but also about privilege and access in the fashion industry. How do you navigate those discussions?
I have a mentor, and his name is Christian Louboutin. He’s the reason I’m here. He built this company from the ground up and ultimately made the decision to give me this opportunity.
My responsibility is to do the work and do full justice to the role so that he’s happy and proud with what we’re creating. Christian is driven by art and creativity, and in the end there’s no shortcut to either. The work has to speak for itself.