PARIS – It’s said that lightning never strikes the same place twice, but Christian Louboutin’s creative thunderbolts made for an exception to the rule on Thursday night.

After the spectacular water-themed performance last year, the shoe designer reunited with American photographer and music-video director David LaChapelle and choreographer Blanca Li to stage another standout iteration of the Loubi Show format with which he presents his seasonal collections during Paris Fashion Week.

While the bar was set high with the first effort, the trio’s sophomore collaboration still delivered a large-scale display that was as joyful and entertaining as their first one. Still surfing the wave of fashion’s fascination with sports, this time they reimagined an American football game and homecoming celebrations in a loud show that was aptly set in the Dojo Arena stadium in Paris’ 14^th arrondissement.

And if the location reveal didn’t tease the theme enough, Jaden Smith arriving to the event in a fire-red outfit replete with matching footwear shoulder pads immediately shooed away all doubt.

The American rapper and actor — who last month Louboutin tapped to become his first men’s creative director, roughly 15 years after he first expanded his red-soled universe into men’s — headlined a packed guest list including the likes of Jenna Ortega, Gwendoline Christie, Tessa Thompson, Phoebe Tonkin, Pom Klementieff, Jameela Jamil and Ester Expósito, among others.

They all walked through the green football field — customized with the brand’s logo and light installations of its iconic pumps on the sides — and after mingling and posing for pictures, they took their seats front row next to Louboutin.

They were treated with a spectacle in five acts that included dancers, cheerleaders, acrobats, a mascot, a live music performance and even a marching band. Actually, make it six — a grand finale saw all the performers converge on the field and Louboutin leave his seat dressed in a uniform and becoming the bandmaster — tambourine in hand and all — and join LaChapelle and Li under an explosion of confetti.

Before that, the show opened with a model in high heels making her entrance onto the field, strolling with a lawn mower as she seemed to metaphorically set the stage for what was next. A marching band, a baton twirler and a seahorse mascot in red boots — Louboutin’s favorite animal — took over.

Cheerleaders followed suit, along with a live performance by Milo Throtton, a French singer also known as Asphalt, who, dressed as a football player, seemed to embody the high-school heartthrob in the narrative. There was a rom-com vibe in the show that triggered nostalgia in Millennial guests and was further emphasized by the covers of songs such as of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, and even Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” that played throughout the show.

A smartly choreographed football game between men and women was the prelude to the entrance of a giant cake replete with leg-shaped candles and dancers carrying big cherry sculptures. The moment marked the fifth act of the celebration and displayed the reinterpretation of one of the most iconic art objects of Louboutin’s career: the Ballerina Ultima conceived in 2007. Inspired by the extreme verticality of a ballerina’s en pointe position, the design was here reworked with the Cassia style’s squared shoe front and entirely covered in rhinestones.

Other designs seen throughout the performance included the Cassia Annmac taking cues from the soft cocoon of leg warmers; the Cassiasticina evoking ballerina slippers and the Ruben style, the first Cassia creation in the men’s range.

The collection was designed with the grace of ballet in mind, continuing to build on Louboutin’s passion for dance, which has been a source of inspiration for him since his days as an intern at Les Folies Bergère in Paris.

In the recent past, Louboutin has repeatedly included the world of dance in his presentation formats, spanning from more cabaret-style performances to edgier takes, like the one developed with renowned choreographer Sadeck Berrabah in 2023 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his iconic red soles.