Which French luxury brand is famous for its red-soled high heels?

The French luxury brand famous for its red-soled high heels is Christian Louboutin.

Christian Louboutin is the French designer whose stiletto shoes are identified by their glossy red-lacquered soles. He founded his eponymous company in Paris in 1991 after working as a freelance footwear designer and assisting established fashion houses. His shoes became especially prominent in the 1990s and 2000s, when he helped bring dramatic stilettos back into the fashion spotlight.

The red sole reportedly began in 1992 or 1993. Louboutin felt that a prototype’s black sole lacked energy, so an assistant’s red nail polish was applied to it. The temporary experiment became a permanent design signature. The brand’s red is commonly identified by the Pantone code 18-1663 TPX.

The red sole is more than a color trend: Christian Louboutin has pursued trademark protection for it in multiple countries. In a major United States dispute with Yves Saint Laurent, a 2012 appeals ruling recognized protection when a red sole is paired with an upper of a different color, while allowing an entirely red shoe. Salvatore Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, and Manolo Blahnik are separate luxury footwear brands.