Designer Christian Louboutin believes that women wear high heel shoes because they make them more confident and sexy.

The shoes designer Christian Louboutin recounted a meeting with a French academic: "She said that what is sexual in a high heel is the arch of the foot, because it is exactly the position of a woman's foot when she orgasms. So putting your foot in a heel, you are putting yourself in a possibly orgasmic situation."

Known for creating achingly high heels that cost hundreds of pounds, the French designer believes women are willing to suffer the pain. He said in an interview for The Sunday Times: "There is an element of seduction in shoes that doesn't exist for men. A woman can be sexy, charming, witty or shy with her shoes. Shoes for men are about elegance or wealth, they are not playing with the inner character. That is why women are happy to wear painful shoes."

Louboutin has been making shoes for 20 years and has sold 600,000 pairs.