Big changes are afoot at Jimmy Choo. The company is celebrating a milestone 15th anniversary this year–but in a surprising turn of events, Choo co-founder and chief creative officer Tamara Mellon–who was also the face of the brand–is leaving the company.
Mellon isn’t the only one leaving, either. Joshua Shulman, the CEO, has also resigned, WWD is reporting. This all comes in the wake of the footwear company’s acquisition by Labelux last May. Mellon couldn’t be reached for comment, but she’ll apparently finish out the month. Shulman emphasized that his resignation was independent of Mellon’s, telling WWD, “We’re not going off together [to pursue a new project].” Footwear News speculates that perhaps Mellon will start a new brand–she seemed amenable to the idea in an earlier interview.
While the Telegraph reported that Labelux was unhappy with the condition of Jimmy Choo upon acquiring it, Shulman told FN, “From a financial point of view, we grew the business significantly. And we transitioned Jimmy Choo from a niche brand focused on the U.S. and Europe to a [global] lifestyle player.” The current Jimmy Choo creative team will stay on board to run the design side of the company.
It’s the end of an era, for sure, and always interesting to watch how a company changes when it loses a founder.
Well, that didn’t take long. A day after news that Tamara Mellon was leaving Jimmy Choo broke, there’s speculation that Mellon will launch her own lifestyle brand. And funding may already be in place for such a venture, WWD is reporting.
While Mellon’s ambitions aren’t portrayed in a very flattering light–WWD‘s source told the paper that “money and a high profile are important to her”–it’s understandable that she would want to branch out on her own. She had to sell her shares in Jimmy Choo and become a salaried employee, which can be hard to swallow when you’ve been the one in charge.
Mellon obviously has a taste for luxury, so the speculation is that she’ll do a lifestyle brand in the style of Tom Ford or Tory Burch. The question is whether or not she can bring something different to the table in a market that’s getting crowded with logos and expensive perfume and lipstick.
fashionista
