Charles Jourdan made Dior's shoes — then the Champs-Élysées bankrupted it

Charles Jourdan founded his eponymous shoe company in 1919 in Romans-sur-Isère, France, after serving in World War I. By 1921 he had opened a factory on Boulevard Voltaire employing over 30 people. In the 1930s, Jourdan broke with convention by becoming the first shoe designer to advertise in high-end fashion magazines, positioning his brand as an haute couture house for footwear.

The brand's sons joined in 1947 and drove international expansion: the UK in 1950, a Paris boutique in 1957, and licences to design shoes for Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin. By the 1960s and 1970s, Charles Jourdan was the definitive French luxury shoe brand, known for innovative materials and surrealist advertising by photographer Guy Bourdin. In 1975 the brand expanded into ready-to-wear clothing and handbags.

In 1999, the company moved its flagship store to the Champs-Élysées in Paris — a prestige location with enormous rent. At the same time, management shifted focus from design to retailing, losing the creative edge that had defined the brand. The Champs-Élysées store closed within less than two years. In mid-2002, Charles Jourdan filed for bankruptcy with over $9 million in debt, having sold only 65,000 pairs of shoes that year. The Jourdan family sold its stake to Luxembourg investment fund Lux Diversity, and the brand was reorganized.