French fashion icon Christian Louboutin’s decision to name Will Smith’s son, Jaden, as his chief menswear designer is a bold choice that has taken the industry by surprise — and stirred up fresh allegations of “nepo-baby” favoritism.

When not following in the footsteps of his famous father into acting and rap music, 27-year-old Smith has been a regular at fashion shows for years, as both a high-profile front-row guest and as a model.

His often eccentric dressing has frequently caught the eye — such as when he turned up to the Grammy Awards this year wearing a black Transylvanian castle on his head, or when he carried his own freshly shorn dreadlocks into the Met Gala in 2017.

“I am convinced by his creativity, but I am also happy to have an intelligent voice from a different generation at my side,” Louboutin, 62, told Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday as he unveiled Smith.

Smith is set to move to Paris and be responsible for four men’s collections per year, including shoes, leather goods, and accessories for a brand renowned for its red-soled stilettos.

While women’s shoes continue to be the bulk of the Louboutin business, menswear accounts for around a quarter of sales, according to the company.

Smith will take the hot seat, despite limited experience in the fashion industry, at a time of fierce competition from corporate juggernauts such as LVMH and a global slump in the sector.

In 2012, he co-founded the niche unisex streetwear brand MSFTSrep, which is specifically designed for fellow Gen Z and Millennial fashionistas, and has been a long-time collaborator with sneaker maker New Balance.

The LA native, whose love of the waste-heavy fashion industry is matched by a passion for environmental causes, has also backed a sustainable bottled water business and a vegan food truck serving the homeless.

“Today he lacks technique, but he’s starting to learn,” Louboutin said of his fashion skills, explaining that his new protégé had already made several visits to Italian factories.

“What you cannot learn is enthusiasm and taste and passion. All that, he has,” the stylist added.

Pressure

Smith, son of power couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, was in the spotlight from a young age — acting in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 and 2010’s The Karate Kid before turning towards music and fashion.

“I feel a lot of pressure to be able to live up to everything that Christian has done for the house, and also stepping into such a serious role,” he told fashion outlet WWD.

Part of his appeal to Louboutin is his ability to connect with new, younger audiences, which is helped by his 19 million Instagram followers.

He “is going to show the brand’s vision in a much more visible way,” Louboutin told WWD.

The choice has echoes of LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton‘s decision to name fellow Black American entertainer Pharrell Williams as creative director for menswear in 2023.

Reaction in the media and on Instagram was mixed.

“He hasn’t been to design school, doesn’t have any technical experience but he’s the son of Will Smith,” sniffed a headline on the BFM news channel in France.

“This industry is already one of the toughest to break into, and instead of opening doors for real talent, it feels like 90 percent of opportunities go straight to celebrity kids or famous names,” complained one post on Louboutin’s Instagram message announcing the nomination.

“Nepo babies”, shorthand for nepotism babies, is a recent pejorative term referring to someone whose success in the entertainment or fashion business is seen as based on the work of their parents.

It has been regularly attached to Smith, as well as the offspring of Johnny Depp, Lenny Kravitz, or Gwyneth Paltrow, among many others.

Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney, has confounded critics by establishing herself as a major player in the fashion world at the head of her eponymous brand.

The Business of Fashion publication said it believed retirement-age Louboutin was thinking about the future.

“The billionaire shoemaker is taking a first step toward succession by bringing in a new creative director for the men’s category,” it said.

By Adam Plowright