Moulin Rouge backstage: Inside the Paris atelier creating shoes for can-can dancers

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Maison Clairvoy is a Parisian atelier that creates shoes for Kylie Minogue and the Moulin Rouge dancers
Other buyers for the shoes, which sell for anything from £1,200 to £2,800, include The Artist actor Jean Dujardin
The atelier was founded in 1945 by Edouard Adabachian but was sold to the Moulin Rouge in 2006

Published: 03:56 EST, 28 April 2014 | Updated: 05:07 EST, 28 April 2014

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What do Kylie Minogue and the can-can girls at the Moulin Rouge have in common? They all get their dancing shoes from Maison Clairvoy, the Parisian bootmaker that has cornered the market for top end, made-to-measure footwear for screen and stage.

Founded in 1945, the Maison Clairvoy still operates from the shop where it all began - a small building at 17 Rue Fontaine, just 650ft from the Moulin Rouge itself.

Despite its theatrical clientele, the atelier began life as a simple shoe shop, with founder Edouard Adabachian creating bespoke footwear on demand for private clients.

Ready for action: A dancer from the Moulin Rouge shows off her calf-length Maison Clairvoy boots while stretching ahead of a performance

Looking good: A pair of dancers show off their custom-made pink boots created by Maison Clairvoy, which come complete with elaborate silver leatherwork

Ready to dance: A dancer from the Moulin Rouge adjusts the ankle strap on her delicate gold heels and right, a dancer uses the wall as a leg stretching aid

By the 1960s, Maison Clairvoy had branched out into creating shoes for the theatrical world and today, theatre, cinema and even circuses account for 80 percent of the 400 pairs of shoes and boots the company makes every year.

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Abadachian's descendants sold the business to Moulin Rouge in 2006 but little has changed otherwise. The shop is still half boutique and half theatre museum, with signed pictures of famous performers and a can-can costume permanently on display.

On the floor, a smooth red carpet evokes the world of cabaret. 'That is where tap dancers test the shoes,' explains bootmaker Nicolas Maistriaux, the current director of Maison Clairvoy.

According to the 35-year-old, the job of creating the shoes is a delicate one and the atelier employs five expert cobblers to create them. 'There are about 250 steps in the production of each shoe,' he explains. 'And a pair can involve anything between 20 and 60 hours of work.'

The Moulin Rouge takeover has ensured the company's future by guaranteeing a steady flow of orders, Maistriaux adds. As a result, some of their top-selling styles are the calf-length, blue and red mini-boots in which the can-can is performed.

Beautiful: The shoes at Maison Clairvoy take between 20 and 60 hours to make and as a result, cost between £1,200 and £2,800 per pair

Man of the moment: Nicolas Maistriaux photographed in the workshop of the Maison Clairvoy, where he is creative director

In the window: A selection of custom-made shoes on display in the window of Maison Clairvoy which is located just 650ft from the iconic Moulin Rouge

Thanks to Clairvoy's attention to detail, dancers can thump the stage floor repeatedly in confidence: the heels are specially designed to spread and absorb the shocks.

'Stage shoes have to be extremely high-quality, both from a technical and an aesthetic point of view,' says Maistriaux. The laces on the can-can boots are only there to enhance leg length: a zip on the outside of the boot actually does the job of keeping the dancers' ankles fully supported.

But while Maison Clairvoy still supplies shoes to the Moulin Rouge, it regularly makes shoes to order for film-makers as well. Recent examples have included the high heels that featured in French-Belgian production Guillaume et les garçons à table, or, as it's known in English, Me, myself and Mum, and the Roman-era footwear sported by Gallic cartoon heroes Asterix and Obelix.

Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-nominated star of silent film, The Artist, is another client and slipped into a pair of spurred Clairvoy boots for the cinema adaptation of another cartoon strip, Lucky Luke.

Delicate: A Moulin Rouge dancer shows off her pretty beige and gold leather strappy shoes

Stunning: One of the custom made shoes created at Maison Clairvoy. Clients include Kylie Minogue and The Artist actor, Jean Dujardin

That's how you do it: Maison Clairvoy shoemaker Guillaume Gonin works on a boot destined for the feet of one of the Moulin Rouge can-can dancers

Handmade: Gonin painstakingly hand-stitches the leather upper on a pair of boots he is making for a dancer at the Moulin Rouge

'We modified the interior of the boot to make it easier for the actor to appear bow-legged like Luke,' reveals Maistriaux.

Kylie Minogue turned to the company for her 2006 and 2008 tours, with the diminutive pop star requesting shoes with four-inch heels she could dance in and walk down stairs without looking at the steps.

But if you're planning to emulate Kylie's style, you could be in for an expensive surprise. A bespoke pair of high heels costs between £1,230 and £1,650 while men's made-to-measure shoes go for around £2,880.

It is a price worth paying, Maistriaux says, for a little piece of Parisian history. 'They are comfortable, they are beautiful and there is something timeless about them.'

Hard at work: Mr Maistriaux is in charge of the workshop which was bought by the Moulin Rouge in 2006 but has a history that dates back to 1945

Meet the team: Maison Clairvoy employs five full-time shoemakers at its Paris atelier, all of whom make the shoes and boots by hand

Variety: A selection of the shoe lasts used by the cobblers at Maison Clairvoy. Many of their clients come from the Moulin Rouge

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George.Penwell, Portage, United States, 1 hour ago

Donna from Edinburgh, You sound like a jealous bitter old biddy If it's what these girl like doing then what's the harm? Don't worry Donna there's Chippendales for you ladies.

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donna, edinburgh, 10 hours ago

It is 2014 and they still have woman dancing topless, I can not think of anything worse to go to. I get it appeals to men but it feels sleazy for guy's to go there to pay the girls to take there top's off. Because the dancing is just a way for them say this is not sleazy because we are entertaining you, where really for the high price of the ticket you can pay for the woman to take there top's off, they are no better than strippers.

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Sam Fullerton, edinburgh, United Kingdom, 16 hours ago

I went to the Moulin Rouge for my 21st because I love the history of the building and the area. The show was entertaining but very tacky and cheesey. I'd much rather recommend The Crazy Horse. Absolutely amazing burlesque show and just across from the Princess Diana memorial!