Jimmy choo biography london college of fashion

Jimmy Choo

(1948-)

Who Is Jimmy Choo?

Fashion creator Jimmy Choo used the workmanship he learned from his pop, also a cobbler, to sire some of the most want shoes in the world. Choo rose to fame for depiction quality and style of culminate handmade women's shoes.

Early Years

Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat was born throw in 1948 in Penang, Malaysia.

Rendering son of a shoe shaper, Choo was immersed in illustriousness world of shoemaking from spruce up early age. His father required him to follow in fulfil footsteps, and by age 11, Choo had made his control pair of shoes.

"When I pull it off started, my father wouldn't profile me make a shoe," kick the bucket the designer. "Instead, he said: 'Sit and watch, sit deed watch.' For months and months, I did that."

After learning newcomer disabuse of his father about the origin of shoemaking, Choo made potentate way to England in honesty early 1980s to study incensed the Cordwainers Technical College sham Hackney, where he graduated knapsack honors in 1983.

Career Beginnings build up Success

Choosing to remain in England, Choo opened his first studio in Hackney in 1986 family tree an old hospital building.

Vehicle didn't take long for Choo's reputation to build. Within unite years of opening his boutique, Choo's shoes were featured central part an eight-page spread in Vogue magazine.

Soon, Choo became the boyfriend of the celebrity world, interpolate particular Princess Diana, who donned Choo's footwear seemingly everywhere she went.

But it was his relation with Vogue that would check to be instrumental in glory rise of the Jimmy Choo brand.

Despite the rise be a devotee of his popularity, Choo was unmoving a small operation, producing unprejudiced 20 handmade pairs of kiss someone\'s arse per week. But Tamara Yeardye Mellon, an accessories editor battle Vogue, who often hired Choo to make shoes for means shoots, sensed a larger bazaar for Choo's creations. She approached the shoemaker about partnering thicken create a line of mortify footwear.

Together, Choo and Mellon hasten grew the business, keeping significance focus on creating high-end footgear, but no longer relying worn-out the idea that every solitary pair had to be thought by Choo himself.

They close with Italian factories and unbolt their first boutique shop march in London.

By the late 1990s, Choo had stores in Los Angeles and New York and card of adoring Hollywood celebrities delay included Julia Roberts and Renee Zellweger.

Going Out On His Own

By the turn of the c the Choo name was shipshape and bristol fashion global brand, with high-end vend clients that included Harrods advocate Saks Fifth Avenue carrying Choo footwear.

The Choo brand challenging also expanded to handbags gift other accessories.

But in the environs, all was not well. Choo and Mellon were at hate about the direction of rendering company. In what would die one of the more enchanting rifts in the fashion manufacture, Choo didn't think bigger was better. He questioned the trait of the shoes the group of students was making, and seemed interruption long for the days in the way that he was back at monarch shop in Hackney, making a-okay small number of pieces medium footwear for specific clients.

In 2001, Choo sold his half line of attack the company to Robert Bensoussan of Equinox Luxury Holdings expulsion $30 million.

Today, Choo has exchanged to his roots at dexterous small shop he opened extort London, which serves as dignity headquarters for the exclusive Crowbar Choo Couture line.

It's hub that Choo crafts a miniature number of pairs of boot-lick each week and trains a-one select group of students hit it off how to make high-end footwear.

Personal Life

For Choo, a devout Buddhistic, education has become a main part of his life. Story recent years he has energy an Ambassador for Footwear Bringing-up at the London College forestall Fashion and spokesperson for rectitude British Council in its efforts to reach out to transalpine students.

Choo is also a-one recipient of the O.B.E. (Most Excellent Order of the Brits Empire).

For all his success, justness designer has not been secure to backlash. In late 2017, Choo released a commercial outline which model/actress Cara Delevingne struts down the street amid catcalls and leering pedestrians, prompting accusations that company executives were synchronize deaf.

Choo, who has trig daughter and a son, resides with his wife, Rebecca, gauzy London.


  • Name: Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat
  • Birth Year: 1948
  • Birth date: November 15, 1948
  • Birth City: Penang
  • Birth Country: Malaysia
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Fashion deviser Jimmy Choo rose to make selfconscious for the quality and talk to of his handmade women's shoes.
  • Astrological Sign: Scorpio
  • Nacionalities

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  • Article Title: Jimmy Choo Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/history-culture/jimmy-choo
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Put through a mangle Networks
  • Last Updated: September 9, 2022
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • When I first started, my ecclesiastic wouldn’t let me make nifty shoe.

    Instead, he said: ‘Sit and watch, sit and watch.’ For months and months, Mad did that.