Business Partner: Jimmy Choo is just a cobbler, he did not design a single shoe for the multi-million dollar brand named after him!

Tamara Mellon has told how her business partner, Jimmy Choo did not design a single shoe for the multi-million dollar brand named after him.

During an interview this morning on the Today show, the 46-year-old revealed that she never received a sketch from him during the years they worked together; 'Not one', she clarified.


Unaware of Mr Choo's lack of design nous when they joined forces, she said that she had to quickly hone her skills and use experience from her fashion writing days to guide her.




Lifting the lid: Tamara Mellon has told how her business partner, Jimmy Choo, did not design a single shoe for the multi-million dollar brand named after him


Ms Mellon, who worked at British Vogue for five years soon after dropping out of school, said: 'The original idea was for Jimmy to design the collection and I would run the operations of the business.

'But it soon became very clear that Jimmy's skill was in making shoes. He’s a cobbler.'

In her new memoir, In My Shoes, the mother-of-one reveals how she turned to Mr Choo's niece, Sandra Choi for help.

While she would come up with the ideas, Ms Choi would sketch them out and the two of them would go to vintage stores along Portobello Road in London, to look for inspiration.


Not a design man: Ms Mellon said that Mr Choo, seen with a fashion student, was a skilled cobbler but lacked creative spark
 
Business Partner: Jimmy Choo never designed a shoe



Her creations soon became a hit with A-listers, including Victoria Beckham and Princess Diana, and in 1998 a pair made their way into the script of Sex And The City - turning Jimmy Choo into a household name overnight.


However, it was Mr Choo who went on to gain global recognition, not Ms Mellon.


Noting her increasing bitterness about the situation, she writes in another part of her book: 'By the end of 2000, Jimmy Choo was turning a profit of around £3 million a year.


'We had our own London boutique and were represented at 450 more stores, including Harrods and Selfridges.


'To top it off, we’d won a British Fashion Council Award, which Jimmy insisted on accepting on our behalf, even though his design contribution had been nil.'

Ms Mellon said from there her relationship with Mr Choo deteriorated to the point that any conversation was 'out of the question'.

Eventually, after much confrontation, Mr Choo sold his share in the company in 2001.

Ms Mellon, who remained with the firm until 2011, said the years that followed were tough as she dealt with the death of her father in 2004 and a divorce from her 'playboy' husband in 2005.





Design process: Ms Mellon said that she would come up with ideas and Mr Choo's niece, Ms Choi would sketch them out and the two of them would go to vintage stores to look for inspiration







While it might have been more sensible for Ms Mellon to have gone into business alone, she admits that she met Mr Choo after going through a rough period in her life.


'One glass of wine for me turned into 6 o’clock in the morning and calling the coke dealer and then realizing, "Oh my God, I've got to be at work in three hours,'" she recalled.

After losing her job at Vogue at the age 27, Ms Mellon entered rehab. The experience marked a turning point for her. She emerged determined to pursue her dream of starting her own shoe business.


In my shoes: Ms Mellon offers a glimpse into her eventful life in her new memoir



That’s when she reached out to Mr Choo, a cobbler from London’s East End whom she knew from her Vogue days.


Today, armed with a wealth of business experience, she gearing up for the launch her own namesake label this fall.

The Tamara Mellon line will be carried online at tamaramellon.com and at stand-alone stores landing in New York, where she is based with her daughter 'Minty', in November and London by 2014.


The line will of course carry shoes, but also will include ready-to-wear clothing and handbags. She calls it 'affordable luxury' with a prices ranging from $295 to $4,500.


She concluded on the Today show: 'If I have a bid of equanimity now, and I'm better at standing my ground, it's only because I've fought my way through the rites of passage.

“I can't believe that it's actually happened . . . I had the dream and the vision. And now it's a reality.'

In her memoir, she attributes her success and determination to a childhood that revolved around a difficult relationship with her mother and unwavering support from her father.



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