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legs into walking sex, the chic little kitten heels that suddenly seem so cor- rect, his growing men's collection of studded loafers and metallic-leather sneakers, and the myriad day and evening bags that satisfy needs both posh and practical. The two-story boutique is unusual for Louboutin's world only because it was planned from the start to offer a unisex appeal. "This store is actually very much a marriage of a male environment and a female environment," he notes. "It's not mixed; you pass from the women's space into the men's space upstairs. But it's our first store in which as much space has been dedi- cated to men as to women. It's been exciting to work on what that means for the architecture." Louboutin is winding down a year-long celebration of his 20th anniver- sary, and even he is surprised by how invigorated he feels about the growth of his men's collection. "I started to do men's things really just for me, one or two little styles, almost out of pleasure and not taken very seriously," he says. A collection for British pop star Mika, who commissioned Louboutin to do his shoes for a world tour, changed all that. The designer says he put the question to the singer: Why do you want me to do your shoes? "He said, 'I see this huge excitement you bring to women; I see the smiles of my sisters when they wear your shoes, and I don't know any brand that carries that type of excitement,'" Louboutin recalls. "I liked this description very much. It's funny: I started my company thinking of showgirls, of music-hall or stage people, and 20 years later, a guy from the entertainment industry is coming to me and inspiring me again." The custom shoes for Mika ultimately found their way into Louboutin's retail collection, and the designer believes these styles, studded or splashed with pearls or crystals, have proven successful for one key reason. "Where was the man's fantasy 20 years ago if you had to be in a suit? The fantasy was in your tie, in a crazy color, or something. But never in the shoes; that was always for the women, but no longer," he says. "It's all about exaggerated elegance, and I love when bankers and doctors come up to me and say, 'All these years, I've never understood why my girlfriend gets so excited by your shoes, and now I know.'" Louboutin opens his Chicago boutique with his Spring 2013 collection; on the women's side you'll find a chic amalgam of tribal influences—pic- ture a studded Masai mask climbing a woman's foot, its feathers secured in place with thin straps—and bright neon tones, such as the fuchsia buckles that fasten a zebra-print ankle boot. Louboutin is often influenced by his travels, which in the past have taken him to Istanbul for rare damasks or more recently to Bhutan for the work of that country's artisans. "I'm very inspired by the embroideries or beauti- ful painting on wood—it's important to me to work with techniques that are sometimes quite ancient," he says, adding that such devotion can sometimes impact the quantity that can be produced of a par- ticular style. "I'm not someone whose goal is to do a million shoes; I don't want to put my name on a lot of things. I've been proposed everything, to put my name on cars, on clothes, and it's just not " I knew it was right to open in Chicago because I see women here wearing my shoes. " my thing. My eye is quite driven by quality, and if sometimes that means a small production, I'm quite happy with that." As his anniversary year comes to a close, Louboutin indeed seems quite content with his practices, which he says have never failed him. If any- thing, the opposite is true. "It's funny—those 20 years in the company, and I still feel like I am 20 in a way," he says with a laugh. "Twenty years is not a life, but it's a big part of a life. I still feel myself at the very beginning of a young adventure." 58 E. Oak St.; christianlouboutin.com MA Sweet Charity ($1,695) Alexis document holder ($1,295) Guerilla ankle boot ($1,995) Caption will go here tk. Bruno Orlato loafer ($995) MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 85