Kent News - Footwear maestro Jimmy Choo opens new store

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Friday, September 3 2010, 5:58

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Footwear maestro Jimmy Choo opens new store

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Jimmy Choo and Michele Pritchard

World-famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo has helped launch a new store in Kent.

Mr Choo, whose footwear is frequently mentioned in the hit American TV show Sex and the City by character Carrie Bradshaw, was at Davina Boutique in Chislehurst last week.

The store has been set up by Michele Pritchard and her father Peter Choo, a cousin of the designer. Mrs Pritchard, who was trained by Jimmy Choo, said her life would always be in shoes.

The 27-year-old said: “As a child growing up I always ended up helping my dad in one of his shops on Saturdays and fell in love with shoes.
“He would often take me to shoe exhibitions and on school holidays to visit shoe factories.”

Mrs Pritchard said that after graduating in fine arts from Canterbury Christ Church University she decided to have a go at designing shoes and completed an internship at Jimmy Choo Couture.

“I also took a short shoe and handbag design course at the London College of Fashion where Jimmy is a visiting professor,” she said.

“No wonder he was pleased to come to the opening to support me and to find out for himself what I was up to. He was full of compliments.”

Malaysia-born Mr Choo said: “I was very pleased to support the opening of Davina Boutique and privileged to be guest of honour at the launch.

“It is very important to recognise those who supported you at the start of your career and Peter and Michele have always supported me from the beginning of my shoe designing profession.”

Mrs Pritchard said she was inspired by Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin, whose shoes appear in films such as Sex and the City and The Devil Wars Prada, and plans to open a second store in East Dulwich. Mr Choo received an OBE in 2002 for his services to the shoe and fashion industry in the UK.

POSTED: 19/07/2008 16:00:00

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