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Jimmy Choo at a graduate show for students at the JCA London Fashion Academy, the design and business program he founded in 2021.
Dave Bennett | JCA London Fashion Academy | fake images
From British royalty to Hollywood stars, Jimmy Choo luxury shoes have been worn by countless celebrities on red carpets around the world.
Now Choo is helping the next generation of fashion designers follow in her footsteps, with the opening of a online store selling clothing and accessories made by students and graduates of their design program at the JCA London Fashion Academy.
“My father always told me, if you have the knowledge and the skills, if you pass on your legacy, then the younger generation (can have) all the skills and knowledge as well,” he told CNBC. Choo was born in Malaysia, where his father taught him how to make shoes by hand.
Choo opened the academy in 2021 and offers students a bachelor’s or master’s degree in entrepreneurship in brand design and innovation, with business being a key part of the program.
“It’s very important… (to help them) start a business, figure out how to sell it,” Choo told CNBC.
Students learn about marketing and public relations and write business plans with the goal of starting their own fashion “micro” business after graduating, according to a description in the academy website.
“Even the most talented fashion designers will fail if they don’t have business acumen,” Choo said in a press release.
JCA London Fashion Academy designer Olivia Black’s collection, “A War with the Environment,” aims to highlight the “battle” that must occur to combat sustainability issues, Black told CNBC. A model is shown here wearing one of Black’s pieces at a fashion show on November 28, 2024.
Dave Bennett | JCA London Fashion Academy | fake images
The academy also opened a temporary physical location, the JCA Retail Gallery, on the ground floor of the exclusive White City Living development in west London, where students’ collections were displayed and put on sale last week.
“The idea of launching this was to give them (students) a platform to sell their work without having to pay the fees of what they would normally pay for (renting a) retail (store) and give them that opportunity to speak to the general public “said Olivia Black, one of the academy’s graduates and co-curator of the JCA Retail Gallery. The commercial space was donated to the academy by real estate firm Berkeley Group.
Black said Choo gave feedback on the fashion brand of the same name during its creation, advising him to develop the idea of his brand’s motif: an eagle. “He always says, focus on something that makes the garment really special,” Black said.
Sustainability is a focus for students. Many of the garments were produced from dead stock or second-hand fabrics, while some were made to be modular with zippers or ties that allowed sleeves or legs to be added or removed for different occasions. Choo suggested that designers could use cuts from luxury clothing production to make more affordable pieces.
Eleanor Hunter, a graduate of the JCA London Fashion Academy, named her brand “Average George,” after her grandfather, a World War II spy. A model wears one of Hunter’s pieces at a fashion show on November 28, 2024.
Dave Bennett | JCA London Fashion Academy | fake images
Last year, McKinsey predicted that the generation Artificial intelligence could contribute between 150,000 million dollars. and $275 billion to the operating profits of the fashion and luxury sectors from 2026. What does Choo think of AI and its effect on the fashion industry? He said AI is useful for student exercises or translating letters from Chinese, but cautioned that it shouldn’t be used for everything.
“Because people can see: if you use AI, everything will turn out the same,” he said. “You can use it as a guide, but not 100% to take it and do everything. Otherwise, you will have lost your skill,” Choo said.
Choo studied at the Cordwainers shoe school in London in the early 1980s and made shoes for a show at London Fashion Week in the late 1980s. Vogue magazine journalist Kate Phelan saw his designs and called him and said, “Jimmy… we want those shoes,” Choo told CNBC. The magazine ran an article about her shoes on several pages, and Choo found a customer in Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1990s.
Choo sold his 50% stake in the footwear business of the same name. when the company was valued at £21 million in 2001 and the the brand is now owned by Capri Holdingswho bought it in a $1.35 billion deal in 2017.
