How Louboutin became the go-to for A-listers – in pictures

Leather, studs and points - all hallmarks of the Louboutin heel, seen here during a preview of an exhibition celebrating 20 years of the French shoe designer's work Photograph: Fred Duval/WireImage

Carrie Bradshaw once cried that she would become the woman who lived in a shoe, thanks to a distinct lack of savings and a closet full of impractical but lovely high heels. There was the episode that Carrie got mugged for her Manolo Blahniks, and the many more episodes in which the Sex and the City gal rhapsodised about Jimmy Choos. But it was a pair of gold Louboutins she chose to make her comeback in opening scenes of the film Sex and the City 2. Unfortunately, in terms of the quality of the film, it was downhill from the Loubous, really Photograph: Startraks Photo/Rex Features

Thanks, in no small part, to Sex and the City, the luxury footwear brand entered the national lexicon as a byword for instant glamour and, occasionally, the shoe cupboards of our nation's women. As these Ascot racegoers show, the red sole became a discreet symbol of luxury worth flashing with a kick of the heel. But how are we to know they're the real deal? In 2011, Louboutin filed a trademark infringement against Yves Saint Laurent after the latter sold shoes with the signature red sole. 'It is a red in a specific context. There is Ferrari red [and] Hermès orange,' Louboutin told French newspaper Libération. 'Even in the food industry, Cadbury recently won a lawsuit against Nestlé for using purple packaging. All this proves that the colours play a part in a brand's identity. I'm not saying that red usually belongs to me - I repeat that this is about a precise red, used in a precise location." The lawsuit is onging Photograph: Violet/Getty Images

Sound the 'Louboutins aren't just for women' klaxon! Admittedly, Elton John's wardrobe doesn't represent that of your average man, but he is often pictured in the latest Louboutin slippers Photograph: Picture Perfect/Rex Features

There's nowt Victoria Beckham loves more than a platform heel, so she had these Louboutins custom made for last year's Royal Wedding. That she is pregnant while navigating the grounds of Westminster Abbey in these stacks is as commendable as it is terrifying, frankly Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Forgive us for concentrating on the rearview of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (R) and Crown Princess Letizia (L) shortly before an official luncheon held at the Zarzuela Palace in Spain. Just think of 2009 as a simpler time, when the fashion press got excited about the flash of Carla's Louboutin kitten heel and the world leaders could still wheel out their pretty wives to act as a distraction from impending financial doom Photograph: Agencia EFE / Rex Features/Agencia EFE / Rex Features

Speaking of doom, Louboutin got an infamous namecheck in the Assad Emails when leaks revealed Asma, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, discussing a possible Louboutin order during a period of, shall we say, national insecurity in her country. "I actually LOVE them!!!", she wrote, in a brilliant display of understatement, "they're really cool.. But I don't think they're not [sic] going 2 b useful any time soon unfortunately" Photograph: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images

Admittedly the shoes are the last thing you notice in this pic, one of the first to be taken of Beyonce after the birth of her daughter in February. In a world where famous mothers are regularly appaluded and chided in equal measure for how they manage their 'post-baby body' - (we hate that phrase on the fashion desk), you have to love how bosom-y and happy Bey looks in her Alice by Temperley dress and Louboutin heels Photograph: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Henry Holland gave these Louis studded high tops a boost when he posted pictures of them online in 2010, and he was rarely seen without them on his feet thereafter Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA Archive/Press Association Ima

It's not just famous trotters that don Louboutins. At the Jonathan Saunders London 2012 autumn/winter collection, you'll notcie the models wore specially designed Louboutins to compliment the clothes Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

The Louboutin exhibition opens at the Design Museum in London on Tuesday 1 May Photograph: Jonathan Short/AP