Photo: Courtesy of Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin‘s commitment to preserving Egyptian cultural heritage is being recognized by the World Monuments Fund. The famed shoe designer, who is part Egyptian, has been named the recipient of the organization’s Hadrian Award for his financial support to the Colossi of Memnon in Luxor, which has seen the excavation of 113 sculptures of the goddess Sekhmet and various other ancient columns.
Louboutin will be presented with the award at the 33rd Hadrian Gala on October 24 at the Rainbow Room in New York. As part of the World Monument Fund, which advocates for projects to safeguard heritage sites and monuments worldwide, the annual event celebrates individuals championing cultural conservation and preservation works. The gala will also honor Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, and art collector Suzanne Deal Booth, with Lacma director Michael Govan and Monument Lab director Dr Paul M Farber, presenting their awards respectively.
Leading up to the gala are a number of events planned by the organization, which include the World Monuments Summit on October 22, with Louboutin participating in a special talk on Egypt and how it has inspired his work. It will be followed by a gathering at Louboutin’s Madison Avenue boutique, with sale proceeds going to the World Monument Fund and the next day, a tour and reception hosted by Diane von Furstenberg on Little Island with designer Thomas Heatherwick.
Since being founded in 1965, the organization has raised more than $ US300 million. More recently, it released its World Monuments Watch list by naming 25 heritage sites as urgent projects for the organization.
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