JUST FOR SHOE ADDICTS: LO QUE NO SABÍAS DE JIMMY CHOO

Jimmy Choo was born in 1961, Malaysia. He is 51 years old.
His family always delt with shoes and he made his first pair at the young age of 11.

"Siéntate y observa, siéntate y observa!"_ Durante meses fue lo que el padre de Jimmy le recomendó. Cuando ya estuvo preparado se mudó a Inglaterra a estudiar y se graduó en 1983.

"Sit and watch, sit and watch" - For months that was all Jimmy's father let him do. When he was ready he moved to England in the early 1980s to study at the Cordwainers Technical College in Hackney. He graduated with honors in 1983.

Cuando acabó decidió quedarse en Inglaterra y abrió su primera tienda en un antiguo hospital. Al cabo de dos año Vogue le dedicó un reportaje de 8 páginas.

Jimmy decided to stay in England and opened his first store in an old hospital building. Within 2 years he got a 8 page spread in Vogue.

It was Tamara Mellon, then just an accessorie editor at Vogue, that approached Jimmy about partnering
to create a line of ready-to-wear footwear.

Together, they created Jimmy Choo Ltd and focused on creating a high-end footwear that no longer had to be handmade by Jimmy himself. They contracted italian factories.

Junto con Tamara Mellon crearon Jimmy Choo Ltd. y a partir de ahí contrataron fábricas italianas para confeccionar los zapatos.

But in the background they had a lot of problems. Jimmy served only as a silent partner and Tamara became the managing director. Jimmy didn't think bigger was better and was worried about the quality of the shoes.

Un poco mas adelante Jimmy se convirtió en un socio silencioso porque Tamara era la directora y quería masificar la empresa cosa que Jimmy no quería.

Sandra Choi, Jimmy's niece came to the rescue! She discovered her talent and sketched 30
shoes to make up the first full collection.

Choi agreed with Tamara about the strategy and uncle and niece spent many years without talking to each other. In 2000 Jimmy was awarded with Accessory Designer of the Year but Tamara thought that she was the driving force behind the brand and the award should be given to her.

Empezaron las reticencias entre Tamara y Jimmy... su sobrina Sandra Choi acudió en rescate de su tio pero al poco tiempo se unió a las perspectivas de negocio de Tamara.

In 2001, Choo had too much of the drama and sold off his 50% share of the
company for 10 milion pounds to Equinox Luxury Holdings, Ltd.

En 2001 Jimmy vendió su parte a Equinox Luxury Holdings y creó Jimmy Choo Couture volviendo a sus principios cuando creaba zapatos por encargo.

Jimmy was granted the right to license the name ‘Jimmy Choo Couture’ and began running his own business, by appointment only. Cordwainers also named him a Professor and he often enjoys lecturing there in his free time.

But the original brand, with Tamara on the helm, went nowhere but up.

All the A-listers are familiar with the designs and they are still constantly 

seen in latest and greatest Jimmy Choo shoes.

The Sultan of Pahang gave Jimmy the title of Dato,
a highly esteemed honor in Malaysia.

Jimmy incorporates a wide variety of stones,
from Swarovski crystals to natural stones.

One of Choo's most famous clients was Princess Diana, that wore his shoes all the time, everywhere. Although it was more noticiable when she divorced Prince Charles because, in high heels she was much taller than him. 

The designer's products were featured in Sex and the City, The Devil Wears Prada,
The Sopranos, Ugly Betty and many others.

Nowadays, Choo resides in London and is involved in a project
to set up a shoemaking institute in Malaysia.

Hoy en día Jimmy se ha envolvido en un instituto de creación de zapatos en Malasia y Tamara ha continuado expandiendo la marca original Jimmy Choo pero sin Jimmy...