Christian Louboutin (left) has appointed Jaden Smith as the brand’s first men’s creative director, entrusting him with four annual collections of shoes, leather goods and accessories. Photo composite: Instagram/Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin’s big idea surfaced in the pool. He was swimming laps one winter morning in Paris, his usual form of meditation, when Jaden Smith came to mind.
The young multihyphenate artiste and a founder of the clothing and lifestyle brand MSFTSrep had approached him in 2019 at a fashion event in Los Angeles, boldly walking up with a crew of friends to introduce himself.
They crossed paths again in Paris, where Louboutin, more reserved by nature, insisted on returning the favour with his own welcome.
They continued to run into each other over the years, and though the meetings were brief, the conversations always had spark – a back-and-forth volley of ideas that never seemed to run out of energy.
In the pool that day, he wondered: What if that energy were formalised?
Months later, the fashion house named Smith as its first men’s creative director, tasked with shaping four collections annually across men’s shoes, leather goods and accessories.
His first capsule arrives online and in select boutiques in January, and his full debut collection will be released during the men’s Autumn/Winter shows in January.
Smith and Louboutin talked about the appointment on a recent Sunday afternoon. Here’s what they had to say.
The interview has been edited and condensed.
It’s not every day that a luxury fashion house hands over the reins to someone so young and outside the traditional fashion establishment. Pharrell at Louis Vuitton is perhaps the closest parallel, but Jaden is 27. Does it feel like a risk?
Christian Louboutin: The real risk is to take no risk, especially in fashion. If you take no risk, you dilute the message. If there is risk, there is excitement about that risk.
So I would say that it’s a good risk, and it’s totally worth it.
Read more: Is Jaden Smith Christian Louboutin’s bold hire, or fashion’s new nepo baby?
Is there a larger business strategy driving this decision, or is it purely creative?
Christian Louboutin: If there’s a business motivation, it’s the way Jaden is going to be able to give more visibility to the things we are doing.
Jaden, what is your overall vision for your debut collection?
Jaden Smith: We want to create shoes for the multiverse of men: the grandfather, the father, the oldest son, the youngest son.
The patriarch comes from a different time – we need shoes for that man. The father is in more modern times – we need shoes for him, too.
Then you have the oldest son who wants to be in line with the father and grandfather but has a very different life.
And then you have the youngest son rebelling, doing his own thing. That’s me and my generation. We’re designing for all of them. That’s the story that’s slowly unfolding.
What have you learned about each other that’s surprised you?
Jaden Smith: Something that really surprised me about Christian is that he is an architect. He actually builds buildings almost around the clock, and he still manages to run this amazing company.
He pulls inspiration from shoes for the buildings and from buildings for the shoes. I never expected anyone to do that.
Christian Louboutin: I have been very surprised, actually very happily surprised, by how quick Jaden is. We will start a conversation, and then eventually it needs to go to the team.
So Jaden will lie on 15 to 20 big pillows with his computer, and in the nicest way he makes you understand that he needs to be by himself and do his thing.
Then, not even an hour later, he has a presentation. He’s so quick at illustrating what we have been discussing or what he has in mind. It’s not by accident that he’s a musician. The computer is like his piano.
He also has a strong capacity to engage a creative team. He’s bringing this great energy.
Now there is this joke because when Jaden arrived in town, I looked at people in the office, and the girls were all prepped up. The guys looked great.
I said to someone who works with me: “What happened? This is not fashion week.” He said: “No, it’s not fashion week. It’s Jaden’s week.”
Christian, has working with Jaden made you rethink anything about fashion or your brand?
Christian Louboutin: Jaden is super visual. And he’s always engaging a sense of community. When you speak about a project with him, it immediately goes into a lot of corners. Suddenly photography arrives, music arrives.
Me, when I focus on the drawing, I really focus only on the drawing. He’s way more open in that sense than me. He’s embracing different things.
Read more: How the children of celebrities are taking over the fashion world
How about what you have in common?
Christian Louboutin: Enthusiasm.
Sometimes when we were speaking, it wasn’t just about a lace-up shoe or whatever. Jaden would speak of a sport, and then out of that sport he would think, “What I like about that sport is that there is a line on the surfboard, and it’s often outlined with a second line.”
So it’s a very visual conversation. To build through imagery and then go all the way – it’s nice.
There’s this game. I don’t remember the name. It’s like badminton. Squash.
We’re very much squashing somehow. I send the ball – ping! He gets the ball – ping! He sends me back the ball – ping! It’s squash where no one has to win. We both win all the time. – ©2025 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
