Sandra Choi on Jimmy Choo: Crafting Iconic Shoes That Empower Women and Define Luxury

By Kristina Moskalenko

Jimmy Choo has unveiled a striking new logo — a bold statement for a house already synonymous with glamour. To mark the moment, Kommersant Style sat down with Sandra Choi, the brand’s visionary creative director and niece of the legendary Jimmy Choo, at the label’s London headquarters to discuss the daring plans shaping its next chapter.

Sandra Choi’s creative office at Jimmy Choo occupies the eighth floor of a sleek modern building near Buckingham Palace, sharing a corridor with the London offices of Giorgio Armani and Tom Ford. The space is almost entirely glass, sunlight streaming in from every angle and making the polished Jimmy Choos gleam all the brighter. Choi herself is all energy and warmth, sporting a boyish haircut, black jeans, a sweater—and, naturally, Jimmy Choo shoes.

“I never throw anything away, just like my uncle,” she announces the moment you step inside. “So in here, you’ll find everything. When Karl Lagerfeld passed and the media was full of his images, I saw a photo of him surrounded by piles of sketches, papers, and little bits of everything—and I felt a wave of relief. I realised I wasn’t the only one.”

Behind her, shelves overflow with vintage Jimmy Choo models, party invitations, fabric and lace swatches, and countless other treasures. “This iridescent stone—from blue to pink—I picked up for five pounds at a local market. And here’s a sandal from Sex and the City, 1998,” she points out. Amidst the creative clutter sits a glass jar of borscht. “A gift from my team,” she smiles. “My husband is a quarter Russian, and I learned to make borscht.”

Next, Sandra points at the new JC monogram, set to adorn the brand’s accessories. “I’ve been at Jimmy Choo for 23 years,” she says, pulling sketches from beneath a pile of papers. “For 23 years we worked quietly under our own name, but now everyone is doing everything. Brand specialisation is fading, everything is mixing together, and standing out has become harder. Personalisation is what everyone wants. So our new JC monogram is our personalisation. I attempted it six times—hard when investors constantly change, each one wanting to see what they can take from the house. But finally, I built a great team and clarified what Jimmy Choo is and what I want for the brand.”

“Our monogram isn’t just slapped on a finished shoe as decoration—it’s an integral part of the sandal strap’s construction. Jimmy Choo is confidence, glamour, and sexiness. And if anyone on this planet can make extraordinary sandals, it’s me. So the letters are feminine, intertwined, with a faceted, diamond-like surface. I always think of a pair of JC shoes as a piece of jewellery. Everything in this monogram is symbolic.”

But why go into such creative struggles, while fashion houses everywhere just simplify their logos? “I won’t deny trends exist,” Choi admits. “But for me, what I create must relate to the house, not the trends—it has to be forward-looking. We’re not chasing our own history, which belongs in the past. That’s why I designed the monogram to work big or small, on shoes, bags, even as earrings. Jimmy Choo is about lightness and sparkle—that’s the inspiration behind the monogram. Other designers may see the brand differently, but this is my vision.”

She then pulls out a pair of glitter-strewn shoes made in collaboration with Disney. “We never intended to sell these. I designed them purely for fun, thinking, ‘I’ll make what I want!’ But collaborations are my thing—they’re bolder, outside my usual experience. You get more than just Jimmy Choo; it’s something intriguing”.

When Jimmy Choo collaborated with Virgil Abloh at Off-White, the designer took inspiration from Princess Diana. “I first met Lady Diana when I was 19, just starting out in my uncle Jimmy Choo’s studio, fresh from securing my place at Central Saint Martins,” Choi recalls. “I put my studies on hold to help my uncle with the business, diving headfirst into the family brand. When I first heard her name as one of our clients, I nearly fell off my chair. We ended up working with her so often.”

It was a tiny, chaotic studio. Endless rows of shelves with samples, a wardrobe to the ceiling stuffed with fabrics. Celebrities were always dropping by—Princess Diana among them—as well as journalists. The studio was in Hackney, alongside workshops making theatre costumes, bags, hats, and working with glass.

“Many of my friends from that time are now well-known stylists and editors,” says Choi. “My uncle taught me everything. I loved designing shoes to match a client’s outfit, figuring out how to make them, packing them in boxes, tying the ribbons! It was invaluable experience—because now I know how every shoe is made, so I can design anything. If you don’t know the process, you can’t argue intelligently. And I can. From the start, I visited factories in Italy and worked with artisans who didn’t speak English. But since we all understood how shoes are made, they grasped what I wanted, and together we figured out how to do it.”

It is clear that in Choo’s universe, the new logo is far from the most important detail. And yet, today, without a logo, it’s often impossible to tell which house or designer made a piece—everyone reads the same trend reports and follows them. So what comes first: Jimmy Choo’s DNA or Jimmy Choo-branded earring that sounds undeniably intriguing but also has nothing to do with traditional shoemaking?

“Ok, I love when one shoe has a green stone and the other a white one,” Sandra Choi starts explaining. “My job is to draw attention, surprise, and create something beautiful—for both new clients and loyal ones. This year, I reflected on how the brand was built, thinking about the women who wear our shoes. On one end, there’s young talent like Kaia Gerber, just 18, yet with an astonishing work ethic. On the other, there’s the Queen of England and her family—they’re our friends too. They’ve all helped me realise that my heroine stands firmly on her own feet.

I like to take one idea—say, a square toe, a unique cutout, the elegance of a silhouette, or the skill of the artisans—and express it across different models for different clients and purposes. That’s my signature. It doesn’t matter if a 16-year-old or a 60-year-old wears my shoes; what matters is that they feel great in them.

It’s also crucial to distinguish between those who love the brand and those who love the design. That was what I was taught at Central Saint Martins. So my signature isn’t a logo—it’s the curve of a heel, the way a strap is fastened, attention to detail and comfort, the ability to delight and empower women with independence, playfulness, and will. Luxury and good design never die, because people value quality and items they can wear for years.

Also as a brand we started with the aim of making fashionable, wearable shoes that offer class, chic, and a touch of surprise, imagination, and fantasy. And that’s exactly what I plan to continue. So, expect more glamour, not just a new logo!”

Originally Published at Kommersant: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4096517