CHICAGO — Jimmy Choo founder and president Tamara Mellon last week christened the brand’s first store here, which has Forties boudoir style decor that will serve as a prototype for the company’s ongoing expansion in the U.S. and abroad.
“I want it to feel as though you are walking into a lady’s dressing room, a woman’s boudoir,” said Mellon. The Oak Street boutique has velvet-quilted sofas, Ultrasuede-covered chairs, satin-paneled walls and crystal-drop chandeliers.
Mellon, who expects to double the number of Jimmy Choo stores in the next five years, with an emphasis on Asia, said the feminine look would be replicated as the brand increased its international presence.
Women in the U.S. and United Kingdom view Jimmy Choo first and foremost as a footwear company, but shoppers in Asia see the name as a luxury brand. There, stores sell as many handbags as shoes, Mellon said.
Those clients, in particular, will likely respond well to Jimmy Choo’s growing assortment of accessories, which in December will include aviator, wrap and retro-inspired sunglasses. A fragrance will be introduced during the first quarter of 2008, she said.
Although Mellon said she doubted the brand would expand into ready-to-wear, she said she saw potential in swimwear, lingerie, belts, jeans and jewelry, namely diamond and gold pieces to be unveiled in spring 2008.
“I’d like to accessorize the whole woman,” she said.
The party was attended by Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey’s chef and an author, who plans to open a restaurant in Chicago, and benefited his nonprofit charity, the Common Threads Apprentice Board, which offers after-school cooking, music, dance and gardening classes for several Chicago public school students.
The Chicago store represents the 21st location in the U.S., where the company plans to open another five to seven boutiques.
Jimmy Choo scouted sites for three years in the Windy City, waiting for the right location. The 1,800-square-foot space along upscale Oak Street formerly housed a Nicole Miller boutique.
Mellon did not release sales projections or figures for the Chicago location, which opened for business in February. The bestseller so far has been the Kennedy patent leather sandal with straight gold metallic framed 4 1/2-inch heels for $580.