The name Christian Louboutin is synonymous with red soles and spindly, towering heels. But the designer’s platform pumps weren’t always so high. In fact, Louboutin’s original designs, which were thought of as dangerously tall at the time, are considered kitten heels by today’s standards. “I remember designing a 90-millimetre mule and people went, ‘Oh my God, that is much too high’,” Louboutin told WWD. “Now people who say they won’t walk in heels are talking about four or five inches. In the history of shoes, there have never been such high heels.” To put things in perspective, 90 millimetres is about 3.5 inches, and lots of Louboutin’s current offerings, including Kardashian-worthy spiked pumps, measure in at 150 millimetres, or six inches. That’s a lot of extra height!

“My drawings are very high and I want to remain as true as possible to my drawings,” Louboutin explained. The guy clearly values fashion over comfort, but that doesn’t mean he’s not sympathetic to the pain of swanning about in what are basically very fancy stilts.

— Style Bistro