"Everybody applauded! And I thought, 'Well, at least if I regret it I'm going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!'" Landscape architect , Louis Benech , has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin and his partner spend time between their homes in Paris' 1st arrondissement , [ 6 ] a fisherman's cottage in Lisbon , [ 7 ] a palace in Aleppo , [ 8 ] a houseboat on the Nile christened Dahabibi-my love boat , and a house in Luxor . The Luxor domicile is a former craftsman's workshop, made of earthen bricks, to which he has added an additional floor and a rooftop belvedere. [ 9 ] Additionally, he shares a 13th-century castle in the Vendée with his business partner Bruno Chamberlain. [ 5 ] Louboutin claims that his unusual pastimes include trapeze flying, inspired by the film Wings of Desire , and that inspirations come from showgirls and music halls – not fashion (or la mode ), which he asserts becomes quickly dated. [ citation needed ] He began sketching shoes in his early teens, ignoring his academic studies. Going through a punk phase, he was in a few films, including 1979 cult classic Race d'ep and The Homosexual Century , which attracted an English-language audience. His first job was at the Folies Bergères, the cabaret where he assisted the entertainers backstage. He was also a fixture on the city's party scene, clubbing his nights away alongside Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol . [ 5