Jaden Smith named Christian Louboutin’s first men’s creative director

Jaden Smith is to become the men’s creative director at Christian Louboutin, a new role created for him by the French fashion house. The New York Times reports that Smith will move to Paris to undertake the position and will oversee the creation of four collections a year across shoes, leather goods and accessories, along with developing campaigns, events and immersive experiences. His first capsule arrives online and in stores in January, with a full debut collection due to launch at the men’s fall shows that same month.

“This is the one of the biggest honors of my life, and I feel a lot of pressure to be able to live up to everything that Christian has done for the house, and also stepping into such a serious role,” Smith told WWD. “When he reached out to me, I was just blown away, because of how similar we are and how much we like to do things in a similar manner. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve been working on.”

Louboutin will move aside from the men’s side of the business and focus on women’s, instead. Speaking to the Times, he said Smith’s approach to the work has already impressed him.

“We will start a conversation, and then eventually it needs to go to the team. So Jaden will lie on 15 to 20 big pillows with his computer, and in the nicest way, he makes you understand that he needs to be by himself and do his thing,” he told the newspaper. “Then, not even an hour later, he has a presentation. He’s so quick at illustrating what we have been discussing or what he has in mind. It’s not by accident that he’s a musician. The computer is like his piano.”

In addition to making music (his most recent album CTV3 dropped in 2020) Smith has a long history in the fashion world. He has previously modelled for Louis Vuitton, created a denim line with G-Star in 2018, and established his own brand, MSFTSrep