He has made shoes for some of the most famous women in the world, but when shoe designer Jimmy Choo is dreaming up the shape of a new pair of kitten heels, it is not legendary icons such as the late Princess Diana - one of his earliest and most ardent fans - who are on his mind.

For the Penang-born 51-year-old, the ideal Jimmy Choo woman is not some red carpet glamazon or silver screen siren, but simply 'a woman who loves me'.

His Hong Kong-born wife Rebecca and 17-year-old daughter Emily are two women who must surely be on that list. Many others profess to love the label that bears his name. They do not just wear his shoes to premieres and fashion shows. Several, including gritty American musicians such as Shyne and Pitbull, have rapped about the luxe life that Jimmy Choo shoes represent.

In the ditty Dignity, pop princess Hilary Duff croons: 'You got the hottest shoes, you got those Jimmy Choos, you never get the blues.'

Belting out dance anthem In Da Club, Beyonce declares herself the chick in the 'Jimmy Choo kicks, killin' it'.
When asked if he knows any of the songs that reference his name, the lanky, chatty shoe guru smiled mischievously, stood and shimmied his hips to an imaginary beat.

'Of course,' he told Urban at the Cameron Highlands Resort last November. 'I've even danced to them.'

Mark Yeoh, executive director of YTL Hotels and Resorts which owns the resort, had invited him to be the guest of honour at its annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.

Ironically, much of the brand's pop culture ubiquity - the Sex And The City references, Michelle Obama's acid-green Glacier Jimmy Choos at the recent inauguration - arrived only after Choo himself was no longer involved with his namesake brand.

Born to a family of shoemakers, he started designing shoes when he was 11, but his parents were not keen to have him continue the family business.

'They were old-fashioned and wanted me to make a decent living and be able to support my family. They used to say that not many shoemakers can feed their wives. But I was very stubborn.'

While on vacation in London in the 1980s, he decided to enroll in the Cordwainers Technical College (now known as London College of Fashion) to study shoe design.

It was as far from a glamorous beginning as you could get. He worked part-time as a cleaner and in restaurants to pay for his school fees and found discouragement waiting at every corner.

'I put shoe designer as my occupation on the application form when I was applying for a passport and the passport officer changed it to shoe shop assistant because he had never heard of shoe designer as a profession,' he recalled, laughing.

'My teacher always said I spoke rubbish English. The first time I sketched a shoe, I remember him laughing at me and showing the sketch to everyone. It wasn't easy because I had never gone to art school.'

He persevered and eventually graduated with distinction. In 1986, he opened his first workshop that produced handmade shoes in a former hospital building in East London. An eight-page spread in British Vogue in 1988 helped establish him as the shoemaker of the rich and famous.

In 1996, Choo co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with then-British Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon with £150,000 (S$318,000) from her businessman father.

She bought his 50 per cent stake in the company for £10 million in 2001 and runs the company today with his niece, Sandra Choi, acting as creative director.

Choo and Mellon were said to have parted on somewhat frosty terms, according to a 2007 article in The Observer.

However, he had only good things to say about her when interviewed by the British newspaper: 'She's very hardworking, she was the brain behind everything. I can't complain about anything. I'm not a businessman but she has made my name very famous and respected around the world.'

The brand, which posted net sales of &pound85.6 million in 2007, has branched out into accessories such as sunglasses and handbags and can be found in 80 locations worldwide.

The shoes, which are sold here at Level 2 Takashimaya Department Store, are priced from $900 to $2,900.

Asked if he would rejoin the company that bears his name in a capacity such as honorary chairman, Choo told Malaysian newspaper The Star in 2007: 'I will accept because that's my name and I know I will be able to take the label to the next level.'

When Urban asked him about this statement, however, he professed no interest in reclaiming his eponymous label.

'The brand is doing well, those are not cheap shoes definitely. All the girls like Sarah Jessica Parker love the brand,' he said.

'But that has nothing to do with me. I'm doing what makes me happy now. I like my freedom. My job now is in couture shoes and my heart is also in the education side of shoemaking.'

His Jimmy Choo Couture atelier is located in London's upmarket Connaught Street and he works with a team of eight to handcraft just a few hundred pairs of shoes a year. Prices range from £750 to as much as half a million pounds.

He also works with organisations such as the British Council to give talks on shoemaking in schools. His dream, he said, is to open a Jimmy Choo Couture School to pass on his expertise.

'I have always believed that there are no stupid people in this world,' he said.

'If you are not lazy, I can teach you anything, but you must want it. You must love what you are doing and give it as much time and attention as you do when you fall in love with someone.'

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Jan 30, 2009.