Tamara Mellon hands on at Choo

Tamara Mellon used to clean the shop floor and fax out orders when she first co-founded Jimmy Choo. The shoe designer was hands-on in all parts of the business when it started out in 1996 and she says she and her partner had clearly defined roles for one another, though she had a lot to juggle.

She recalled: “What happened was I approached Jimmy and I said ‘Okay we will be equal partners in this. I will run all operations.’ So I went and found factories in Italy, I set up our production company in Italy. I opened a stall and I bought in all the wholesale clients.

“When I look back at the early days I was helping customers on the shop floor. I was cleaning the shop floor and then running downstairs to fax orders to the factories in Italy. And then going on an inspiration trip to get inspiration to design the collection.”

Tamara first met Jimmy when she was accessories editor of British Vogue magazine and she believes her support for the then-unknown designer helped establish him as a major name in women’s fashion.

She explained on ‘CNBC Meets’:”I used to go down and I used to get Jimmy to make things for shoots. I’d go down to his studio in Hackney and I’d say ‘Okay I’m doing a Grecian story and I want a gladiator sandal with studs, and I want it in metallic silver.’ He’d make it; I’d photograph it and give him a credit in Vogue. There were other editors doing this as well. But that’s how his name became known – because I was doing that for five years.”

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