You lust after their sleek red soles. You croon about the arch, and wonder at the height of the elegant spikes, and beauty of the designs. They make your legs look longer, and tone your thighs and butt, and show off the shape of your calves. But just how much do you know about the designer?

Christian Louboutin made the tabloids this week with his views on women's shoes and the female orgasm.

Louboutin says he once spoke with a French academic about high heels: “She said that what is sexual in a high heel is the arch of the foot, because it is exactly the position of a woman's foot when she orgasms. So putting your foot in a heel, you are putting yourself in a possibly orgasmic situation.”

But Louboutin says that's not where it ends. Women can define their personalities with shoes.

“A woman can be sexy, charming, witty or shy with her shoes. Shoes for men are about elegance or wealth, they are not playing with the inner character. That is why women are happy to wear painful shoes.” said Louboutin.

Painful, expensive shoes. Victoria Beckham is said to have worn hers while pregnant and after a slipped disc. Louboutin says they make her appear strong and in your face.

Material world, indeed.