Jaden Smith’s Christian Louboutin Debut Featured Far More Than Fancy Shoes

Summary

• Jaden Smith debuted his first Christian Louboutin collection at Paris Fashion Week, featuring surrealist footwear like “melted” and red long-haired boot uppers.

• Inspired by history and cosmic themes, the line also includes utilitarian accessories with labelled pockets and 19th-century-style photographic prints.

At Paris Fashion Week FW26, Jaden Smith presented his first collection as the men’s creative director of legendary footwear maison Christian Louboutin. Through an immersive red-tinted experience, the rapper-turned-designer delivered a line of surreal footwear, alongside a range of new accessories.

Announced in 2025, Jaden Smith’s new role at the maison came as a surprise. However, he’s not the only musician who was tapped to helm creative direction at a major brand last year. Travis Scott joined Oakley as Chief Visionary, A$AP Rocky joined Ray Ban as a creative director, and singer SZA joined Vans as creative director, too.

In an official statement, Smith said, “This collection is inspired by the history of working men throughout the centuries, The Stone Masons, The Scribes, The Doctors.” In his signature capitalised style, he continued, “It’s Inspired By The Lost Epochs Of Time & Made By Hands Born From Stars Forged Under Immense Pressure Deep In Cosmic Space.”

The dramatic verbiage was matched by not only the presentations, which included art installations, photography and cinema, but also the nowhere-near-ordinary designs. Loafers were fused with sandal constructions, a pair of tactical boots resembled astronaut gear, while classic silhouettes were subverted by melted finishes and Swiss cheese-like holes on the upper. Elsewhere, extra-tall silver cowboy boots stood 2.5 feet in the air, and another boot was completely covered in long red hair.

Smith also presented a line of accessories, which toyed with utility and prints that trick the eye. Standing out in particular were a line of leather bags featuring labelled cargo pockets on the front, naming objects like “coins”, “charger”, “keys”, etc. Another handbag, without the external pockets, was covered in a greyscale print depicting a smeared crowd of people. The photographic print echoes the official campaign images, which draw inspiration from the primitive photography of the 19th century.

See the gallery above for a closer look at the collection and shop a selected range of the collection now at Christian Louboutin.

Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast