Before there was Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Louboutin there was Charles Jourdan! The iconic shoe maker of the 70’s and 80’s has supposedly made a comeback; however I can find very little information on this, not even a company website!
I remember back in my formative teenage years and early adulthood that every girl I knew lusted after a pair of Charles Jourdan shoes or Sergio Rossi’s. They were always cutting edge, with heels so wonderfully high and sometimes bizarre, so that you wondered how women could walk in the things, however walk they did. Somehow you could always pick a pair of Jourdan’s. Also the thing that I liked most was that they had a male line as well. Although not as fashion forward as the female line, the men’s shoes were superb!
Designing since the 1920’s the company became known for design and fabulous workmanship, creating shoes for Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin. The height of his fame was in the late seventies with ad campaigns created by the likes of Guy Bourdin that emphasised a rather racy image that was in perfect keeping with the times and Jourdan’s clientele.
Unfortunately after the death of Charles Jourdan in 1976, and subsequent leadership by his sons, and numerous investment bankers, the company declined, filing for bankruptcy in 2002. Roger Vivier seems to have made a successful comeback, so will Charles Jourdan be able too as well? So Savoir Faires, has there been a revival????The shoes below are supposedly from the new collection. They still retain the Jourdan trademarks of colour and design, and are perfect!
I had a pair of red Jourdan pumps when I was in high school. God, how I loved those shoes!
ReplyDelete