jimmy choo

About jimmy choo

Jimmy Choo (Chinese : 周仰傑; pinyin: Zhōu Yǎngjié) is a Hakka Chinese shoe designer based in London and is best known for his exquisitely hand-made, expensive shoes and handbags. He was born in 1961 in Penang, Malaysia, into a family of shoemakers and made his first shoe at the age of eleven. His real name was actually “Jimmy Chow," but a registrar misspelled his name on his birth certificate and the rest is shoe history. Jimmy Choo studied at Cordwainers' Technical College (now the London College of Fashion) and later set up his business in a small studio in London's East End.

Among his many well-known celebrity clients are Natalie Imbruglia and Katie Holmes, as well as the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Diana was a huge fan of Choo's designs. He is said to have lost count of the number of shoes he made for her. After she separated from Prince Charles she was frequently seen out and about in his delicate high-heeled shoes, a style that she could not wear when she was still with her shorter husband.

In May of 1996 Tamara Mellon, former UK Vogue accessories editor, bought 50% of Choo's company and she along with Choo's niece, Sandra Choi, launched the ready-to-wear line and sourced factories in Italy to produce the shoes on a larger scale. Being in the fashion world and a talented businesswoman, she spotted a gap in the market for luxury designer handmade shoes when she met Jimmy Choo in 1996. Tamara’s father was Tommy Yeardye, who had founded Vidal Sassoon, so she was fortunate enough to have the funding and connections to get things off the ground. Mellon was able to invest £150,000 pounds in Choo's company to become a partner in it and plans were made to open the first Jimmy Choo stand alone boutique and to develop the wholesale business throughout the fashion capitals of the world. As the brand became increasingly popular, Mellon saw the scope for global expansion and in April 2001 made a deal with Robert Bensoussan of Equinox Luxury Holdings to buy out Choo's interest in the company for a cool £10 million - the company at this time was valued at £21 million. Jimmy Choo himself is no longer part of the company, although he continues to design haute couture handmade shoes under licence. Choo's niece, Sandra Choi, still designs shoes for the company together with Mellon.

In June 2003, Jimmy Choo was awarded an OBE by the Queen of England, for his services in making London the design center of the world for the fashion industry.

In 2004, the company was bought for £101 million by Hicks Muse, a company that owns well known food brands including Weetabix and Typhoo Tea. Hicks Muse now own over 75% of the company, with Mellon and other partners retaining sizeable interests. Mellon has stayed on with the company although she doesn't need to work to survive - her original 49% stake in the company will be worth around £50 million on paper. Robert Bensoussan has also stayed on as chief executive.

Now in 2006 the brand has global recognition. Jimmy Choo Shoes has more than 25 stores around the world, and also outlets in prestigious stores worldwide including Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Stores have recently opened as far abroad as Japan and Thailand, and there are plans for this year to open additional stores in Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Jakarta. Fortunately for Mellon, the launch of Jimmy Choo in the US coincided with the screening of "Sex in the City", where the character Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is addicted to the brand. The product range now includes handbags and sales have been increasing by 50% a year. Under Hicks Muse, a further expansion of the brand into leather accessories is in the pipeline.

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