Lust-Worthy Louboutins

(NEW YORK) Christian Louboutin has partnered with One&Only Resorts to create a capsule collection of espadrilles exclusively for the group's myriad lush havens and hideaways.

In designing his first-ever resort collaboration, Louboutin took his popular espadrille and re-imagined it in three styles: The Cataribbon, The Tiburon, and The Isabelle. Priced at $375, the fancy footwear comes in a wide range of colors and will be available beginning in June 2008 in the boutiques at One&Only destinations including Le Saint Géran, Mauritius; Ocean Club, The Bahamas; Palmilla, Mexico; Royal Mirage, Dubai; and Reethi Rah, Maldives. A limited number of pairs will also be available at Louboutin's boutiques in London and New York.

And this collaboration is no one-off collection. Louboutin is already working on a second line for the resorts due out in November.

"Christian Louboutin, his designs and all that they stand for--elegance, fun and glamour--made him the most obvious designer to collaborate with on our summer footwear collection for our guests," said Chantal Kerzner, buyer for One&Only Resorts worldwide. "Working with Christian and his team has been a fascinating process, and we are so excited about getting his celebrated red soled shoes into our boutiques."

Not only is each pair of espadrilles distinguished by a special box--which bears a simple circular insignia dated 2008--but each shoe style's construction reflects the personality of the resorts.

The Cataribbon, for example, is a 12 centimeter high mule with a crisscross band of vibrant Indian ribbon over a wedge of taupe rope laced with gold thread. It will be available in yellow, navy, cream, black, fuchsia and green. The Tiburon--available in turquoise & blue, taupe & yellow, pink & red, green & green, and green & orange--is a seven centimeter mule with intertwined colored ribbon bands over the foot. The Isabelle is a flat-soled version with brightly colored ribbons that tie around the ankle, and will be available in five ribbon color combinations.

One&Only's collaboration with Louboutin is part of an ongoing relationship that the resort group is cultivating with the world's top fashion designers. Louboutin joins a designer list including Anya Hindmarch and Matthew Williamson, who have also created exclusive collections for One&Only, as well as Alice Temperley, who recently designed a tipi for Le Saint Géran's spectacular peninsula setting. Other designer brands stocked by One&Only include Tomas Maier, Pucci, and Missoni, as well as jewelry from cult London designer Phillipa Holland.

More information on the collaboration is available at www.oneandonlyresorts.com/louboutin.
JIM SHI