Dato' Jimmy Choo OBE, born Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat, is a London-based luxury fashion designer best known for his hand-made women's shoes and handbags.
Choo is a Malaysian of Hakka Chinese descent who was born in Penang in 1961 into a family of shoemakers. He made his first shoe when he was 11 years old, but managed only to complete six years of formal education at Shih Chung Primary School in Penang. He is perhaps the most famous of alumni of Cordwainers' Technical College in London, from which he graduated in 1983. The college is now part of the London College of Fashion. Choo has divulged that he worked part-time at restaurants and as a cleaner at a shoe factory to help fund his college education.
Choo's humble beginnings can be traced back to his workshop in Hackney, East London, which he opened in 1986 by renting an old hospital building. His craftsmanship and designs soon became noticed and he came to the verge of international fame when his creations were featured in a record eight pages in a 1988 issue of Vogue magazine. Patronage from Diana, Princess of Wales from 1990 onwards further boosted his image.
Choo now resides chiefly in London. He is involved in a project to set up a shoemaking institute in his country of birth Malaysia, where his iconic status is often evoked to inspire budding shoemakers and fashion designers...read more
