There, as a schoolboy, he had encountered a sign that featured a shoe with a spiky heel in the middle of a red circle with a diagonal slash.

NEWYORKER: Sole Mate

On the foot, the first sensation of a Bemer shoe is the solid balance between heel and ball--and this in a ready-to-wear model.

FORBES: The Sole of Stefano Bemer

Still, Mr. Louboutin occasionally takes it to the edge: His "Fetish Ballerine" of 2007 has a heel so high, about 10 inches, that it turns a black pump into a pointe shoe.

WSJ: High-Concept Enchantments: Review of Shoe Obsession at the Museum at FIT