Yesterday at Barneys New York, Christian Louboutin parted the red-soled sea of eager women in line to get their shoes signed. Even Patti Freakin' LaBelle popped by with a whole trunk full. In the midst of the chaos, we stole a minute with the footwear icon. From our Fashion Director, Harriet Mays Powell’s, Studio Visit last year, we gleaned he designed heels with sexy French showgirls in mind. But what modern gals inspire him? “Well, Dita Von Teese is the obvious one, but there’s a big spectrum of performance artists. Like as a dancer, Madonna. Or Beyoncé is a great artist. Even some actresses like Angelina Jolie. It’s really about body language, attitude, and how you carry yourself.” Speaking of actresses, he hadn’t read or heard anything about Gwyneth Paltrow's sky-scraping shoe choices. But he did get a text message about something with Gwyneth, so maybe it was related? Yup, Louboutin texts! He’s also planning on attending next week’s Met Gala but don’t expect him to arrive in a cape and tights. “For me, the idea of superhero is about the big shoulders. And I don’t have those, so I’m going to skip that.” We also asked about his favorite spring shoe, which he had trouble recalling. “You have to understand that, for me, spring was a year ago.” Luckily, all the shoes on display were pretty amazing. One day we dream of owning a pair, but it looks like we’ll be saving up for a while. The designer outright dismissed the idea of a cheaper diffusion line.

After the jump, some shoes to dream about. —Kendall Herbst