Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo ( Chinese 周 仰 傑 , Pinyin Zhōu Yǎngjié ), OBE (* 1961 in Penang , Malaysia ) is a Malaysian shoemaker who opened a flourishing shoe shop in London in 1986 and in 1996 the internationally renowned designer shoe brand Jimmy Choo Ltd. launched. Choo left his company in 2001 and has since concentrated on the design of couture women's shoes, which are licensed by Jimmy Choo Ltd. getting produced. Jimmy Choo Ltd. belonged to Joh. A. Benckiser since 2011 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange at the end of 2014 . In 2017 the brand was taken over by the US fashion group Michael Kors .
Life
Choo grew up in a shoemaker's family. At the age of eleven he designed his first shoe. He attended from 1982 in London at Cordwainers Technical College , a department of the London College of Fashion , courses in shoe design and graduated in 1984. Initially, Choo worked for the Swiss shoe company Bally . <Source?> In 1986, he opened a shoe store in London's East End , where he made and sold his shoes.
Tamara Mellon , the former head of accessories at British Vogue , had reported on the flourishing shoe brand Jimmy Choo since 1988 and finally founded the company "Jimmy Choo Ltd" with Choo in 1996. Choo and Mellon each had a 50% stake in the company that Mellon ran and that Choo headed as a shoe designer together with his wife's niece, Sandra Choi, as creative director .
In April 2001, after a dispute between Mellon and Choo, the holding company "Equinox Luxury" Choos took over 50% stake in the company for 10 million pounds, whereupon the latter left the company. Equinox CEO Robert Bensoussan subsequently became CEO of Jimmy Choo Ltd. Within three years, 26 new boutiques were opened in addition to the four existing boutiques. With the support of the group, a handbag and leather accessories collection was established for the shoes. Since then, Choo has concentrated on the design of custom-made women's shoes, which are licensed by Jimmy Choo Ltd. getting produced. Choo was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen of England in 2003 for his contributions to fashion . As of 2004, Lion Capital (Hicks Muse) was the majority owner of Jimmy Choo Ltd. At the end of 2006, there were over 40 Jimmy Choo stores worldwide. In 2007 the company celebrated its eleventh birthday. To date there have been 60 independent boutiques. At the end of 2009, the company entered into a designer collaboration with H&M on a collection of clothing, shoes and accessories for women and, for the first time, also for men in the low price segment, which were sold in the H&M branches.
Today, Jimmy Choo shoes are also worn by celebrity women such as Victoria Beckham , Kylie Minogue , Jennifer Lopez , Scarlett Johansson , Lindsay Lohan , Cameron Diaz and Emily Blunt .
In May 2011 Jimmy Choo Ltd. sold for 570 million euros to Labelux Group GmbH of the German Joh. A. Benckiser Holding .
Because of his expertise, Jimmy Choo was appointed to the jury of the Red Dot Design Award in 2013 .
Boutiques
The company operates around 65 of its own boutiques worldwide, in which shoes and accessories are sold.
Africa
- South Africa: Cape Town
Asia
- Bahrain: Manama
- China: Shanghai
- Hong Kong: (2 ×)
- India: Mumbai
- Indonesia: Jakarta
- Japan: Fukuoka , Nagoya , Osaka , Tokyo (2 ×)
- Qatar: Doha
- Korea: Seoul (4 ×), Busan
- Kuwait: Kuwait City
- Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
- Singapore
- Taiwan: Taipei
- Thailand: Bangkok
- United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi , Dubai (2 ×)
Australia
Europe
- Germany: Munich , Frankfurt , Düsseldorf , Metzingen (Outletcity), Ingolstadt (Ingolstadt Village)
- Austria: Vienna
- France: Paris (3 ×)
- Great Britain : London (5 ×), Oxfordshire
- Ireland: Dublin
- Italy: Milan , Rome
- Switzerland: Zurich , St. Moritz , Geneva
- Spain: Barcelona , Madrid , Marbella
America
- USA: Atlanta , Bal Harbor , Beverly Hills , Boston , Chestnut Hill , Chevy Chase , Chicago , Coral Gables , Costa Mesa , Dallas , Honolulu , Houston , Las Vegas (2 ×), New Jersey , New York (4 ×), Orlando , Palm Beach , San Francisco , Scottsdale
- Brazil: São Paulo
Trivia
- Choo was actually born as Jimmy Chow - but the authorities did not put the name correctly on the birth certificate.
Media mentions
- He was mentioned several times in the American television series Sex and the City , which made the brand known to a wide audience.
- His name is the title of a joint song by rapper Shyne and singer Ashanti .
- His name appears in the songs Red Dress ( Sugababes ), Dignity ( Hilary Duff ), Follow the Cops Back Home ( Placebo ), Go Girl ( Pitbull ), T-Shirt ( Shontelle ), Blame Game ( Kanye West ) and Fashion ( Lady Gaga ).
- Jimmy Choo shoes are the favorite shoes of Adriana La Cerva from the US television series The Sopranos , as mentioned in several episodes of the show.
- The Jimmy Choo brand was mentioned at least once in the movies The Devil Wears Prada , In My Sister's Shoes, and High School Musical 2 .
- Jimmy Choo was also featured in episodes of the US TV series Gilmore Girls , Pretty Little Liars, Smallville , Alles Betty! , Scrubs , Charmed , Desperate Housewives , Castle and OC, California mentioned.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/modekonzern-michael-kors-kauf-luxusschuhmarke-jimmy-choo-ld.1307719
- ↑ Jimmy Choo is now in Men on mitStil.com ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Jimmy Choo: label sold . fashion.ch. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ↑ Icon of the fashion world: Dato 'Professor Jimmy Choo makes his debut as a red dot juror in 2013
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Choo, Jimmy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Malaysian shoe designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Penang , Malaysia |