When it comes to products like nail polish and shoes, “Nude” tends to mean just one color: a pink-toned beige. But not everyone has skin that color, and women of color are so often left out when it comes to trying out the nude trend. (If you’re not familiar with the trend, the idea is that wearing shoes that match your skin color will make your legs seem longer.) If you want shoes — or a Band-Aid — that blends in with your skin, you’re usually out of luck if you aren’t white.
Luxury shoe brand Christian Louboutin has set out to change that. In 2013, the brand launched a line of nude heels that came in five different shades (later expanded to seven), from a pale beige to a dark brown. Though at $675, the heels were out of most people’s budget, the cool, psychedelic campaign images of kaleidoscopes of legs started a conversation around “nude.” Several other brands followed Louboutin’s lead and began to offer “nude” lines of shoes and nail polishes so that women of all races and skin tones can try the leg-lengthening trend.
“Nude is not a colour, it’s a concept,” Louboutin said at the time, writes the Independent.
Now, Louboutin has released a line of nude ballet flats in seven different shades, again from a pale beige to a dark brown. The gorgeous campaign images show seven ballerinas of different skin tones wearing “nude” tutus and the ballet flats, each in a color that perfectly matches their skin. Again, the price — $595 — puts the flats out of almost everyone’s price budget, but we love that the brand is expanding the definition of “nude.” We also love that the campaign images feature ballerinas of all races, as despite the exception of a couple stars like Misty Copeland, ballet tends to be seen as a space for white people. See more of the campaign images below.
The delicate, pointed-toe Solasofia ballerina flat joins Pigalle Follies and Senora in 7 versatile shades of nude pic.twitter.com/gurgwdlv5l
— Christian Louboutin (@LouboutinWorld) March 30, 2016
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