A champagne flute in shape of a heel? Louboutin must be over the recession

Stiletto designer Christian Louboutin has teamed up with champagne brand Piper-Heidsieck to create a luxurious holiday package, comprising a bottle of champagne and a crystal heel from which to drink it.

Inspired by a Russian 'ritual' after ballet performances, where the bubbly-filled slipper of the prima ballerina was raised to a toast by her admirers -- a ritual that was adopted in an even more frivolous way in Parisian cabarets during the Belle Epoque period -- the crystal stiletto comes with a translucent sole and heel, saturated with Louboutin's signature red.

The designer is currently on a promotional tour for the package and has directed a mini-movie that plays on the Cinderella theme, with actors Elisa Sednaoui and Rossif Sutherland playing a couple falling in love and having to part at midnight. Just as in the fairy tale, he finds the crystal shoe she lost hurrying down the steps, and holds on to it as the only memory of the evening.

Le Rituel, as the collaboration is called, will be available from December 1, retailing for $500 at Neiman Marcus in the US or €350 at European stores such as Colette in Paris or Selfridge's in the UK. It will also be available at select Asian stores -- more details can be found online.

Site: le-rituel.com