Jimmy Choo

Jimmy Choo was founded in 1996 in London, England , by Malaysian Chinese designer Jimmy Choo . Its main products are women's shoes, and it also operates handbags, small leather goods, scarves, glasses, accessories, perfumes, etc. It is currently one of the brands under Michael Kors .

· Brand History ·

Malaysian Chinese designer Jimmy Choo was born in 1948 in a shoemaker family in Penang . He learned shoemaking from his father since he was a child and made his first pair of shoes when he was only 11 years old. In the 1980s, he went to London, England to study at London Cordova Institute of Technology (now London College of Fashion) to study shoe design.

After graduating from university, he chose to stay in London and worked in a local fashion design company until 1986, when he rented an old hospital building in Hackney, London , and opened his first shoe store. Two years later, Jimmy Choo's works attracted the attention of fashion people at London Fashion Week. The British version of Vogue magazine used 8 pages to introduce his shoes, helping him quickly gain fame.

Since 1990, Jimmy Choo has become the royal shoemaker of Princess Diana of the United Kingdom . Before her death in 1997, Princess Diana had ordered Jimmy Choo to customize her daily leather shoes or high heels to match her evening dresses. She also often wore Jimmy Choo shoes to diplomatic events, such as the Field Museum of Natural History dinner held in Chicago, USA in June 1996.

Tamara Mellon, editor of the British edition of Vogue, discovered business opportunities in Jimmy Choo's designs. In 1996, they co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd. and opened the first store in London. Tamara Mellon and Jimmy Choo's niece Sandra Choi served as creative directors .

In the early days of the company, Jimmy Choo decided to enter the US market and opened branches in New York and Los Angeles in 1998 and 1999 respectively. The Los Angeles branch is located in Beverly Hills, not far from Hollywood, the center of the US film industry. With Tamara Mellon's promotion, Jimmy Choo gradually became popular among Hollywood stars.

Since 1999, Jimmy Choo shoes have often been worn by movie stars and singers on the red carpet, such as Australian actress Cate Blanchett , American actress Halle Berry , Natalie Portman , Jennifer Lawrence , and American singer Beyoncé .

Jimmy Choo's loyal customers also include Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge , and former US First Lady Michelle Obama , who have worn Jimmy Choo shoes to attend public events many times. At both of President Obama's inaugurations, Michelle Obama chose Jimmy Choo to match her dresses.

In 2001, Jimmy Choo sold 50% of the company's shares to Equinox Group and then left the company to focus on his own handmade custom shoe brand Jimmy Choo Conture. Company partner Tamara Mellon continued to be in charge of the Jimmy Choo London brand, now also referred to as "Jimmy Choo" .

The initial products of the Jimmy Choo London brand were ready-made shoes. Later, the brand continued to expand its business and launched product lines such as handbags (2003), glasses (2007), sports shoes (2010), perfumes (2011), and men's shoes (2011). At the same time, the brand also launched the Jimmy Choo 24:7 series in 2010 , with the aim of providing shoes and accessories that are suitable for wearing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In 2011, Tamara Mellon sold her 17% stake in the company to Labelux Group and then left the company. Two years later, Sandra Choi became the brand's sole creative director . In 2014, Jimmy Choo Ltd. was officially listed on the London Stock Exchange and was acquired by Michael Kors for $1.2 billion in 2017.

Currently, the main development strategy of the Jimmy Choo brand is to expand its retail business. Its sales network has spread all over the world, including Sloane Street and Bond Street in London, Avenue Montaigne in Paris, Via Condotti in Rome, Madison Avenue in New York, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Ginza in Tokyo.

·Chronology of major events·