Datuk Professor Jimmy Choo, well-known as “Jimmy Choo”, What Comes in Mind?
A reputable shoe designer, elegant and exquisitely crafted shoes, famed for making shoes for the late Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, for the feet of other royalties, celebrities and pop stars, come to mind.
But the Malaysian Icon Datuk Jimmy Choo (darling of the celebrity world) who is based in London never forgot his roots and offers more than making couture for footwear. The multiple award winner is not only an Ambassador for his country, he is also a great mentor for young designers, especially his contribution to the design community and his support for global fashion education and training.
At the Huawei P10 (with Leica camera) launch event, I was prepared for a 3-5 minutes interview time with Datuk Jimmy Choo as this is what you get from most of the celebrities. I was positively surprised with how much patience, care, friendliness, preciseness and humbleness Datuk Jimmy Choo approached to me. Of course I saw an opportunity and got all my three questions asked. Guess which questions apart from “Design” did I ask should you know what I stand for?
Datuk Jimmy Choo is a firm believer in “creativity through skills”. As he said: “A designer should not just be someone who is good at sketching but also be well versed and knowledgeable in every aspect of the making of any creation”. He is, as I am, a strong believer in Soft Skills and promotes especially growth Mindset. My mission was accomplished! To come ahead in your industry, you will need the technical skills, to come further in life, you will need more to go that extra mile, soft skills and media.
