Blake Lively’s style icon status is synonymous with Christian Louboutin, who she’s served as a muse to from the 2000s to today. As such, there was no one more fitting to present him with the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Footwear News Achievement Awards on Nov. 30 in New York.
Lively remotely presented Mr. Louboutin with his award in a special video, opening with a heartfelt message.
Blake Lively presents Christian Louboutin with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Footwear News Achievement Awards. CREDIT: Courtesy of Blake Lively
“Congratulations my sweet, sweet Christian on this Lifetime Achievement Award. There is nobody in the world more deserving than you,” Lively began. “Your footwear represents elegance, sex, beauty, grace, history — all of which are characteristics that you carry with you everywhere you go.”
The actress reminisced on her first meeting with Louboutin, as well as his personality extending to his namesake brand.
“I was so intimidated to meet you. I was such a fan of yours — I’m still such a fan of yours,” said Lively. “And from the first moment I met you, you whisked me away on your Vespa and took me around Paris, and showed me this city with such warmth and comfort and grace and friendship, and you do that with everyone you meet. You’re just as kind to someone you meet in a store or one of my family members, to anyone you come across. And that humanity and that kindness and that soulfulness is why your brand is as lasting as it is.”
Christian Louboutin and Blake Lively attend the 2010 Footwear News Achievement Awards at the The Museum of Modern Art on November 30, 2010 in New York City. CREDIT: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Lively finished her speech with a powerful statement commemorating the duo’s friendship.
“And I’m just so honored to call you my friend,” she said. “I am your number one fan, always, and I just couldn’t love you more. And I’m so, so happy for you.”
Lively delivered her speech while sharply dressed in a brown herringbone blazer and sparkling statement earrings — looking every bit like her “Gossip Girl” character Serena van der Woodsen, also immortalized in Louboutin’s heels onscreen throughout the late 2000s and 2010s.
For 36 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2022 event is supported by presenting sponsor Nordstrom, as well as Caleres, FDRA, Merrell, Vibram and Volumental.
PHOTOS: See all the stars on the red carpet at the FN Achievement Awards 2022.
