Footwear designer Christian Louboutin has said using substitute materials instead of leather to make his shoes would cost “much more money”.

He also said alternative materials would harm the environment more than leather manufacturing does. Speaking to The Economist at the end of February ahead of the start of a Paris exhibition of his work, Mr Louboutin said he had studied the question of using alternative materials and had concluded that these would require special plants to grow in large quantities, leading to the loss of trees.

“I’m a serious person,” the designer said. “I’m not surfing fashion waves and I don’t want to dive into a thing and find out four years after that the new elements are more dangerous for the planet.”

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