ISLAMABAD: Christian Louboutin, arguably the world’s best-known luxury shoe designer, has revealed his newest summer sandals inspired by the indigenous footwear of Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the city of Peshawar from where it gets its name.
The traditional men’s leather sandals with their distinctive criss-cross straps are known as the Peshawari chappal and the first look at the Louboutin design on its official Instagram page shows off a glitzy, spiked version of the classic shoes with the recognizable Louboutin logo scrawled over the front. The photo is captioned “Louboutin Homme’s Imran Sandals.”
Hundreds of comments, both positive and negative, have followed since the photo was uploaded on Saturday, with most of Louboutin's followers from Pakistan speculating that the shoe has been named after Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is well known for being an avid wearer of the shoe at all state events.
“By the way,” read one comment from Pakistan, “You can get these in Pakistan in just 1,500 rupees [$10].”
This is not the first time Louboutin has paid homage to Pakistan. In 2017, following a well publicized visit to the country, he released a trio of shoes called the ‘Lahore Flats,’ named after the historic, bustling city of Pakistan’s eastern province.
The Peshawari chappal made its first rounds in international fashion soirees in 2014, when British fashion brand Paul Smith came out with its take on the traditional shoes priced at £300.
