Headline Stylemaker: Tina Leung – Hong Kong, Tala Samman – Dubai
Jimmy Choo was born in Penang, Malaysia into a family of shoe makers. He made his very first pair of shoes at the young age of 11.
Choo learned the crafts from his father and later moved to England to study at the Cordwainers Technical College in Hackney, London, where he graduated with honors.
He established his first shop in Hackney inside an old hospital building. It only takes two years after opening that Choo’s shoes were featured in an eight-page spread in Vogue Magazine.
Tamara Yeardye Mellon, an accessories editor at Vogue, partnered up with Choo to create a line of ready-to-wear shoes. The two business partners contracted with Italian factories and opened a boutique in London.
Yearning to returned to his roots at the small shop he initially open by himself, Choo sold his half of the company to Robert Bensoussan of Equinox Luxury Holdings for $30 million. Today, Choo’s small shop serves as the headquarters for the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture line.
Many celebrities that are seen in Jimmy Choo collection includes Julia Roberts, Renee Zellweger, Princess Diana, Madonna, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez.