jimmy choo: chinese celebrity shoe designer wins DFA award celebrity shoe designer jimmy choo in his studio image © jimmy choo couture. all rights reserved
BODW is asia’s leading annual event on design, innovation and brands. designboom attended as international media partner of BODW and has been a jury member of the DFA – design for asia awards.
jimmy choo receiving the ‘world’s outstanding chinese designer 2011’ award image © designboom
dato’ prof jimmy YK choo OBE was born in penang, malaysia to a family of shoemakers. the celebrity designer has been making footwear since he was eleven years old. he studied footwear at cordwainers’college, determined to master the art of shoedesign. the college has since become part of the london college of fashion, one of five colleges that form university of the arts, london. after graduating in 1983 he began trading under the name of lucky shoes. in 1986 he established his couture label, and his exclusive made-to-order designs have since adorned the feet of celebrities, music stars and royalty.
clockwise from upper left: the DFA awards night ceremony presented by edmund lee tak-yue, executive director of hong kong design center; gala dinner at the awards ceremony; presentation of award recipients; jimmy choo with designboom’s massimo mini, birgit lohmann and anita hackethal images © designboom
building on his international reputation, in 1996 choo launched his ready-to-wear line, jimmy choo ltd, with the late mr. tom yeardye. he subsequently sold his share of the ready-to-wear business in november 2001 and continued to operate his couture label.
today dato’ choo actively works with his team in the design and production of made-to-order handmade shoes bearing the jimmy choo couture label. he serves as an ambassador for footwear education at the london college of fashion and as a spokesperson for the british council in their promotion of british education to foreign students. choo also works closely with demontfort university to promote footwear education. hong kong’s design centre awarded him the title of world’s outstanding chinese designer 2011, which honours designers of chinese heritage who have demonstrated significant contributions to the design community and have continued to devote themselves to the development of design through supporting educational, training and research activities across the globe.
jimmy choo at the podium after receiving the award image courtesy of BODW
jimmy choo giving his acceptance speech after winning the DFA award for world’s outstanding chinese designer 2011 video by designboom
the process of designing image © jimmy choo couture. all rights reserved
‘shoes say something about the way we hold our body. shoes must be elegant, comfortable. shoes affect the person’s personality. support is how the shoe hugs the foot. when you put shoes on, the power comes through your body, which changes. you have to bend, you have to step up, and you have to behave more refined. when you are wearing a pair of beautiful heels, you walk elegantly. I want my shoes to be gorgeous and comfortable.’ – dato’ prof jimmy YK choo OBE
using a shoe form to sketch the jimmy choo couture collection image © jimmy choo couture. all rights reserved 
image © jimmy choo couture. all rights reserved
image © jimmy choo couture. all rights reserved
BODW is asia’s leading annual event on design, innovation and branding is organized by the hong kong design centre (HKDC) since 2002. bringing the best of the global design world to hong kong, the week-long event encourages businesses to unleash the power of design by focusing on the vital relationship and complex interplay between design and business.
DFA awards a record-breaking number of applications has been received this year. in what is widely acknowledged as one of the most important programs to reward outstanding designs in asia pacific, the hong kong design center invited a spectrum of international winners and guests from creative industries, business and media to the award presentation ceremonies on december 1st and 2nd, 2011, to recognize the power of excellent designs and innovative minds in the region. among the 156 design for asia (DFA) awards honoring outstanding design professionals from around the world, the HKDC also bestowed 10 seminal grand awards for significant impacts and contributions to the world’s sustainability in asia, showing capabilities beyond design form and aesthetics.
