Sandra Choi is a British businesswoman and fashion designer. She is the creative director of
J. Choo Limited. She is the niece of
's wife, Rebecca.
Background
Choi was born on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
and educated in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
before returning to London as a teenager to finish her secondary school education. During this time, Choi, who has been described in UK media as
British Asian
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
, went to work with her uncle,
, who was then a couture shoemaker based in the East End of London. Passionate about turning her apprenticeship into a career as a designer, Choi attended the prestigious Central St Martins School where she studied for a degree in Fashion Design whilst continuing work as Choo's protégé. At his side, Choi perfecting the art of creating couture shoes: designing, cutting patterns, stitching, fitting and constructing lasts. Enchanted by the business, Choi eventually abandoned her studies so that she could devote herself full-time to design and the management of the atelier.
Career
Choi was appointed
Creative Director
A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
of
J. Choo Limited at its inception in 1996, working in conjunction with
Tamara Mellon OBE. The company's first
J. Choo Limited store was opened in 1996 on
Motcomb Street
Motcomb Street is a street in the City of Westminster's Belgravia district in London. It is known for its luxury fashion shops, such as Christian Louboutin shoes, Stewart Parvin gowns, and the jeweller Carolina Bucci, and was the location of the ...
in London complementing distribution in selected department stores.
With a strategy to expanding internationally, the company established a retail presence in the United States with its first store in New York City in 1998, followed by Los Angeles in 1999. Using the store's LA foothold to cater to Hollywood celebrities, Choi worked with celebrities and their stylists from a hotel atelier creating Jimmy Choo shoes for award show dressing. The red carpet proved to be the ideal runway for shoes and then handbags, as actresses including
Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions.
She has received ...
,
Kate Winslet,
Halle Berry,
Sandra Bullock,
Cate Blanchett and
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
all took their paces wearing Jimmy Choo.
Accolades followed with
J. Choo Limited awarded 2008 'Designer Brand of the Year' from the British Fashion Council, the 2008 ‘ACE Brand of the Year' from the Accessory Council and the 2008 'Brand of the Year' from Footwear News in New York.
J. Choo Limited was bought by private equity group Equinox in 2001, who began a ten-year store opening programme which continued under the ownership of Lion Capital from 2004 and TowerBrook Capital Partners LP from 2007. In 2011,
J. Choo Limited was acquired by Labelux, the fashion holdings arm of JAB Holdings, which was renamed JAB Luxury in July 2014.
Over the course of the various private equity transactions,
and
Tamara Mellon OBE left the company, with Sandra remaining Creative Director throughout. As her responsibilities increased, with the addition of bags, fragrances, eyewear and the launch of the men's business, Sandra was named Sole Creative Director in 2013.
In September 2019, Choi discussed the redesigned Jimmy Choo brand logo with media. In January 2020, she collaborated with
Kaia Gerber
Kaia Jordan Gerber (born September 3, 2001) is an American model and actress. She is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. After starring in a series of ad campaigns for fashion brands since debuting at Fashi ...
on a new combat-style boot with 15 percent of sales donated to
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Personal life
Choi is married to Tamburlaine Gorst, son of
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician Sir
John Michael Gorst.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Sandra
Shoe designers
Living people
People from the Isle of Wight
Alumni of Central Saint Martins
Year of birth missing (living people)