Sandra Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo: "Marks are not superheroes, we will not change the world"

Educated between Hong Kong and London (and born on the island of Wight), when she finished her fashion design studies at the Saint Martins Central, she joined the firm that her uncle, Jimmy Choo, had founded with businesswoman Tamara Mellon.Today, with 48 years, she is the creative director of this brand that has more than 220 stores around the world and that is part of the Capri Holding group (Versace, Michael Kors).Married to the designer Tamburlaine Gors and mother of two children, Sandra Choi continues to feel the same passion for the design as in that 1996 and new professional and personal goals are proposed.

Womanhoy.What is the balance of these 25 years?Did you imagine such success?

Sandra Choi.Not [laughs].I have learned to dream along the way.When we started in 1996, I remember that the first time I went to New York I was very impressed.I found something that was great.With Calvin Klein and all those big brands, all that money...Tom Ford was then in Gucci and, although there was also a strong grunge movement, I found myself in the midst of those great firms and the power that monopolized.I was part of a small design brand with Tamara [Mellon].She told me: «Sandra, we have to open stores in big cities like New York, Los Angeles...In five years we will have stores here and there ».And it happened.I learned that everything is possible, but you must work hard to build it.Did I dreamed all this the first day?Nope.But along the way.And I'm still dreaming.

There is no magic formula in business, although it seems that you do have it.

No, there is no exact formula;You can't buy a book, read it and do what it tells you.There must be a lot of talent, it doesn't matter if you are an artist, scientist or the best cook.And somehow, with work and talent appears luck.You have to have an open mind and the necessary ingredients;And then work hard.Along the way, one finds opportunities and see that, if they make sense, you must take them.I didn't learn that in a book or working in another company.Either they taught me...It was pure intuition.Does this answer your question?

Yes absolutely.And what is Jimmy Choo's badge, his style, his personality?Then there were very settled marks, such as Blahnik, Louboutin, Vivier...

There are still [laughs].

Fortunately.What is your differential factor?

I would say, first, that the design of the product itself.It is a design for women who want to control the situation, life.Design fashion pieces that allow you to go to different places.Beauty design and, at the same time, practicality and trust.There is our product, which is the most important.On the other hand, we are a very friendly brand and not just shoes, but also lifestyle.Twenty -five years later we are still close, a family.In all Jimmy Choo stores you know what you can find: pleasant people, which is not superficial and makes you feel fantastic, full of glamor, sexy.Those other brands that have mentioned are for a certain type of woman and may have a treatment of a certain superiority.Our brand is consistent with the product and has all the ingredients that customers expect from us.

What are your next goals?

We have many portfolio projects and we will present them shortly.We are all working hard for the public to have the brand in their mind, at the highest level.Even in the middle of the pandemic we have done many things with Tumblr and I was impressed to see Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rizzo or Alicia Keys with our products.It was like a resurgence.We have also done a project with Off -White;I didn't know that brand, but to face the future you have to open your mind and evaluate things.Even feeling something uncomfortable, because it is a mark of urban culture and we are the opposite, we defend glamor, we have learned to put ourselves in the skin of the other to grow.We are at a crossroads in which you must protect glamor and, at the same time, attend the culture of sneakers.For me it is about having an open mind.

Now, the entire industry talks about sustainability.But is not contradictory to talk about sustainability and, at the same time, buy more and more things?

I can't speak in the name of the fashion world in general, just what we do.I think it has to do with the education of society, but also with which we give at home, our children.I can't say anything about what has happened in the past, but about what we are doing now and what we can do tomorrow.Are we superhero brands?Are we going to save the world?Nope!But we have to work to be more sustainable.

But all have to respond to annual growth figures...

When you can think calmly, you do things better.We are working on it, in the investigation of better materials, to use less parcel and that is sustainable, to stop printing...Even if we do little, it's a lot.If everyone did a little, things would change a lot.We have to be honest, we can't change everything we do overnight.But we do think and make each new category much better that we incorporate into our catalog.We choose better.That is all we can do now: more sustainable collections, with a longer life, so as not to consume so quickly and unnecessaryly.You have to educate better, that's my favorite argument.With my children I speak all the time about what they eat, about what it costs...

Do you think society, in general, educates adolescents well?I have the impression that they, although they admire Greta Thunberg and her movement against climate change, also consume more technology, more goods and faster.

Yes, it depends totally on us to guide them to the future.I believe in education, adolescents are a blank canvas and you have to show them the way.They have to learn to ask what they need and why;how much they are paying for it and how much does it cost to earn that money.But we are supposed to be responsible.

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What can a brand do for equality?He has already told me that they can't change the world...We must do it all together and politicians, the first;But something can do...Why are brands more conservative, more classic, when they design for men than when they do for women?

Designers and designers should be able to express their ideas, feel free and know how they want to launch a new point of view.But, at the same time, they must respect the identity of the firm and also what happens in society.Is the design of men more conservative?Yes and no;We also have fun designing for men.We do not try to be conservative, but most men are...My husband, for example, has been buying the same shirts for years and years.

And her husband Jimmy Choo has?

Yes, it has some peers.It has very good taste [laughs].

Do you think men, in general, are more afraid to be free?

No, I wouldn't say that...

And why are the heels afraid of us?

Well, in history they have used them from Louis XIV to David Bowie...And we also design heels for men, as a recent collaboration with actor and singer Billy Porter, who usually uses them for the red carpet.We made a pair of 11.5 cm boots for the Oscar!And we have increased the heel in pieces of the male collection, such as the Jesse boots, based on the traditional Cowboy but higher.Bringing heel can also give confidence to men.

Don't you think we threaten what we understand as masculinity?

Well, I think many men continue to see masculinity like an anchor, like something that lasts them.Current society continues to divide the aesthetics of women and men, but we do not know what can happen in 20 years.I think we are in a decisive moment and the generation of my children may be above all that.Who knows what society will be like in the future...I believe in talent to do new things and try changes.

Are you a flat shoe woman or prefer heels?

I use both.I am a working mother and I often go to school to meet with the teachers.I need a comfortable shoe when I have a lot of activity.But I love heels when I have a special meeting or to leave one night.

Do heels empower or sexualize?

Heels physically and emotionally transform you.They can give you much more confidence in yourself.In Jimmy Choo, since our beginnings, there is a lot of emotional connection with the empowerment.And that is also a function of shoes: make you feel better.

What are your most popular shoes in Spain?Are there differences with other countries?

Now, in all markets, there is worship for heels and party shoes.Everyone is happy to enjoy life again and that is reflected in sales.

Do you note how a British and another Asian part coexist?

Yes, definitely;And the best of both appears when I need it most.My Asian part, for example, gives me a lot of tenacity, makes me continue and continue, never stop.