One of the biggest news stories in fashion’s menswear sphere last year was Jaden Smith’s appointment as Creative Director for Christian Louboutin Men in September. So, it’s safe to say that an equally large level of anticipation has coloured conversations about his debut Fall/Winter collection. In an unconventional move (something we’ve come to expect from the 27-year-old), however, he chose to forgo the runway to showcase his creations.
For his first major step with the maison, Jaden used the format of an exhibition to frame his work within a wider set of ideas. Fashion was only one part of the conversation; film, photography, history and craftsmanship all came together to play a vital role in setting the scene. The display honoured the legacy of Christian Louboutin Men while offering the first look at where it might be headed under Jaden’s leadership.
The exhibition’s opening Projection Room established the mood, saturated in shades of signature Louboutin red. The space drew on the origins of cinema and photography, referencing figures such as Niépce, Daguerre and the Lumière brothers. Shoes from the FW26 collection were shown on digital screens alongside textured, shadowy visuals.
From there, the focus shifted to the collection itself. Each section explored a different facet of Jaden’s ideas through visual and cultural references. The Trapman corner reworked a familiar Louboutin silhouette from the perspective of 1990s hip-hop, an iconic era for the Creative Director. “Hip hop culture is at the centre of my design philosophy, while creating the formal attire for the men of the future,” he said.
The Corteo, another significant member of Louboutin’s footwear family, provided a link back to the house’s own recent history. First introduced in Fall/Winter 2019, it has represented elegance and presence, which Jaden reframed as a symbol of discipline and effort. For him, it stands for “the businessman, the working man, people who wear a suit, who show up with intention, who build something through discipline and effort”.
This focus on the working man continued to the next stage of the exhibition with The Loafers Display. It presented three variations on the penny loafer: classic, slingback and sandal. Each felt like a practical evolution, with The TCT I Display, standing for Tactical, introducing the collection’s most functional design, imagined as the shoe equivalent of a waterproof jacket.
Moving past footwear, the showcase’s lens widened to cover larger concepts like “history and image”, according to the maison. A 360-degree installation of vintage television screens stitched together fragments from various periods, blending major historical moments with everyday scenes. The effect highlighted how images circulate, shaping collective narratives over time. Nearby, select styles were displayed atop antique columns that drew inspiration from the allegory of the Virgin Weeping over a Broken Column, referencing how knowledge and craftsmanship are passed down through generations.
The exhibition also showcased an Angel sculpture from Christian Louboutin’s personal collection. It was featured in the first shoot with Jaden, and now serves as a marker of their collaboration, which began with a simple conversation in 2019. Additionally, a photographic installation showed Jaden’s designs captured using photographic methods from the 1800s, hand-developed under cloth with the traditional mix of silver and chemical solutions.
The exhibit’s final sequence led visitors through a red anamorphosis, distorting visual perspective before coming together to form a monumental exploded red head (another nod to the maison’s scarlet-hued image).
Alongside the exhibition, Jaden also introduced an avant-première capsule on January 22 online and in select boutiques. Featuring signature silhouettes and more experimental pieces in red, black and white, it offers an early glimpse of the wider collection, which arrives in stores in June.
