Jaden Smith’s first Men’s collection as Creative Director of Maison Christian Louboutin arrives as an immersive exhibition rather than a conventional presentation, one that moves slowly, deliberately, and with intent. For Fall/Winter 2026, Smith doesn’t simply show shoes; he builds a world where fashion, cinema, and memory intersect, offering a first, considered vision for the future of Christian Louboutin Men
Staged in Paris, the exhibition unfolds as a sequence of rooms, each revealing a different layer of Smith’s creative language. Photography and early cinema sit at its core, an homage to France as the birthplace of image-making and to the 19th-century experiments that first captured light and motion. Shoes appear not as static products but as moving subjects, crossing screens alongside artworks, textures, and the grainy silhouette of a medieval castle. The effect is atmospheric, reflective, and quietly cinematic.
Smith’s conceptual anchor is the working man across history. Stone masons, scribes, doctors, figures shaped by labour, discipline, and time. ‘This collection is inspired by the history of working men throughout the centuries, The Stone Masons, The Scribes, The Doctors. It’s Inspired By The Lost Epochs Of Time & Made By Hands Born From Stars Forged Under Immense Pressure Deep In Cosmic Space.’ he says, framing the collection as both earthly and cosmic. This tension between utility and transcendence runs through the silhouettes themselves.
Key moments punctuate the journey. The Trapman silhouette is reinterpreted through the lens of 1990s hip-hop, a cultural force Smith positions at the centre of his design philosophy. The Corteo, first introduced in FW19, returns as a symbol of classic elegance and intention, the shoe of the man who shows up, builds, and commits. Elsewhere, the Penny loafer is deconstructed into three forms, its classic shape, and new sling back and sandal versions, while the TCT I Display introduces a technical approach that treats the collection’s most functional piece as the shoe version of a tactical waterproof jacket.
Beyond product, the exhibition becomes a meditation on how images shape collective memory. Vintage television screens loop fragments of global history; shoes rest atop antique columns referencing inherited knowledge and craftsmanship. The Angel sculpture from Christian Louboutin’s personal collection signals the collaborative bond between designer and director, while hand-developed photographs, created under cloth, with silver and chemical solutions, slow the act of seeing down to its origins.
The experience culminates in red: anamorphosis, negative prints, and a monumental exploded head that immerses visitors in the Maison’s most iconic colour.
Smith’s debut doesn’t shout. It listens, studies, and reframes. For Louboutin menswear, Fall/Winter 2026 marks not a reset, but a recalibration, where history, culture, and future-facing design finally sit in the same room.
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