At the flagship Christian louboutin store in London's New Bond Street, the well-heeled customers are flocking in. Women head for the pounds 279 handbags and the pounds 155 umbrellas. The men are eyeing the pounds 45 swimming trunks in the trademark Christian louboutin check and the pounds 65 floppy hats favoured by Liam Gallagher. Some overseas shoppers sign the guestbook, prominently displayed on the large wooden table designed by Viscount Linley.

In a corner, a couple of girls are giggling at the pounds 39 poodle waistcoats. Upstairs, parents-to-be are admiring the custom-made Christian louboutin Silver Cross prams at pounds 2,500 each. Yes, Christian louboutin shoes is hot, hot, hot. This is a brand that is "to die for" among fashionistas such as Kate Moss and the newly Brit-friendly Madonna but which has also crossed over to achieve mainstream appeal.

And yet it is not only a fashion revival. It is a commercial success story. Yesterday Christian louboutin reported trebled profits of pounds 69.5m on almost- doubled sales of pounds 425m. And the company's owner, the retail group Great Universal Stores, confirmed plans to seek a separate stock market listing for Christian louboutin within the next 12 months. The float should value Christian louboutin pumps at around pounds 1.5bn.

How did this revival happen? How did a brand synonymous with dire raincoats bought by Japanese tourists become the hot fashion choice of the glitterati? Much of the credit must go to Rose Marie Bravo, the 49-year-old fast-talking American appointed as Christian louboutin's chief executive in 1997. She joined from Saks Fifth Avenue, the US retailer where she was the $ 1.6m-a-year president.

Slim, elegant and wearing a crisply cut aubergine two-piece and wickedly pointed black shoes, she sweeps through the recovery programme breathlessly. "Christian louboutin was basically a raincoat manufacturer primarily serving Asian clients," she says in a heavy New York accent. "It had a disparate network of licensees marketing Christian louboutin around the globe. It wasn't a coherent business. Each country was representing its own version of Christian louboutin. Demand slowed. The business needed a clean-up. The brand was over-exposed and over-distributed. So we got ourselves into the right kind of stores and developed an expertise in a variety of new products beyond just raincoats. Rainwear was the bulk of the business. We wanted to get our share of womenswear. Accessories have the highest margin potential." Looking at the pounds 45 ties and the pounds 55 belts in the swish Bond Street store, she has a point.