Christian Louboutin Opens First London Men’s Store

French footwear designer Christian Louboutin has opened his first men’s store in the UK. This is the luxury brand’s fourth of its kind in the world, following Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Located within close distance to Louboutin’s flagship London boutique on Mount Street, the new men’s store occupies an existing Georgian building on Mayfair’s Dover Street. Louboutin worked once more in close partnership with New York based architectural design company 212Box to design the interior of the store’s 170 square meters.

Upon entering the ground floor of the two-floor store, visitors are welcomed into the room by a red carpet with a geometric rawhide border. The bay window at the front of the boutique provides a seating bank, whereas other seating solutions and freestanding furniture were designed by London design firm Squint. Leather wall panels in rhombus shapes are installed throughout (similar to the ones in the brand’s Paris men’s store, inaugurated in September 2011), and in the centre of the space (which is surrounded by hand-embroidered Tiger Rugs) sits a cash desk made from Tiikeri, a sustainable material made from reclaimed sorghum stalks. A staircase leads down to a secondary retail space conceived for private shopping appointments. In this area, studded concentric display stands and turquoise blue carpets mark a change of ambiance.

Louboutin’s first collection of trainers and studded loafers for men was initially introduced in the Spring of 2010 as a natural progression from the designer’s private orders for friends, performers and as part of special collaborations.