The words “Jimmy Choo” spark visions of elevated, glamorous shoes, brimming with sensual charm. Since founding in 1996, the British brand has added bags, eyewear and perfumes to that lexicon and, in 2024, its exploring yet another facet – an art platform.
The brainchild of creative director Sandra Choi, the concept will bring commissioned art into Jimmy Choo boutiques to reside alongside the high-end goods, sourced furniture and found objects that already decorate some of its spaces in Paris, Miami and beyond. “Art is personal and it can transport you to other places,” Choi tells The National. “It adds a different dynamic and that, for me, is important.”
Speaking ahead of her visit to the region, where she will take part in an art forum to launch the platform here, she explains why Dubai was the natural choice for this latest evolution. “Every time I go to Dubai, it gets me very excited because, unlike other places, it has the luxury of space.
“You can dream the biggest dream you want, you can build the biggest building you want. That openness and sense of space is inspiring.”
Having been at Jimmy Choo since its conception 28 years ago, Choi is keeper of the flame first ignited by couture shoemaker Jimmy Choo and entrepreneur Tamara Mellon. Their singular quest was to bring beautiful footwear to London in the mid-1990s.
creative director, Jimmy Choo
Looking to keep that vision constantly dynamic, Choi has learnt a thing or two about staying inspired. “I want to get the essence, and what I originally think of as an idea, to come through,” she explains of her design process. “Maybe there's a picture still on the moodboard that I haven't touched? How do we make a stiletto-pump – that we do really well – new again? I just constantly feel like the job is not done.”
This searching has now led to art and what role it may have within the Jimmy Choo universe. “It is our responsibility. We are a luxury brand and, at this level, we have to share the thought process and inspirations with the community we're trying to build.”
In the Middle East, this journey begins with a brand-new collaboration with Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou. Having studied at the University of Sharjah, Al Mazrou earned her master's in fine arts at Chelsea College of Art in London. In choosing the artist to create a site-specific artwork for the Dubai store, the Jimmy Choo team understood that the person selected had to come with a new voice and perspective.
Seen as one of the most promising artists of her generation, Al Mazrou is known for work that is large-scale, monumental almost, and uses painted metal to explore scale, form and abstraction.
Her 2022 work Red Stack, for example, was shown in Regent’s Park as part of London's contemporary art fair Frieze. A pile of eight cushions cast in metal, it rose several metres into the sky.
“She's this young woman who's got a point of view and this incredible volume,” says Choi. “She has the power to build something so tremendous and there's an inner strength in her, but she is quiet. I love that.”
The opposition of scale and materials in Al Mazrou's work also connected with Choi on a creative level. “Contradiction is a word that I adore because I love glamour but, at the same time, I love it to be a bit more raw. To go from something quite obvious to something that has depth and beauty, contradiction for me is everything.”
For this commission, Al Mazrou has scaled down her work, bringing it closer to the intimacy of footwear. The result is a circular, concave dish patterned with lines that could be the facets of a gemstone or the intricate folds of origami. The ambiguity of the work is its beauty and power in equal parts, Choi explains.
“She was explaining to me how she was starting to form her ideas for this, and it was all about folding a piece of paper and seeing where the lines go.” The result is a round sculpture in a deep shade of red, that feels precious and feminine while the concave shape lures the viewer closer, into a more confidential distance.
In choosing to echo a cut gemstone, Al Mazrou skillfully draws parallels with the jewelled stones used across Jimmy Choo, while sparking dialogue about preciousness and luxury. It is a rich analogy, Choi explains. “A diamond is multifaceted and treasured. It can be raw, but depending on how you work with it, it becomes beautiful. When the light comes in, it glows, but if there's no light, it will never glow. And that whole theory to me works really well for Jimmy Choo.”
Given the artwork will go on permanent display in the boutique from next year, its ability to spark a new dialogue with the clients who flock to Jimmy Choo in search of perfectly crafted footwear was a key priority. Around the world, the brand's boutiques are filled with furniture that has had previous lives and, most recently, with artworks that are modern and relevant. “I believe objects are timeless. I've got pieces my husband thinks are rubbish, but for me are treasures filled with memories from my parents. It can be personal,” says Choi.
Ultimately, what will drive this wider project forward is how it examines the space where art and design intersect. “Art is different to design,” Choi explains. “In design, you are given a brief and it is commerce-driven. With art, you don't need to figure out how to wear it or how to buckle it up, or have that relationship with your body.
“Yes, it can be shoes, handbags, perfumes, eyewear and all the things you can actually make a transaction on. But it's more than that. It is having the taste and the flair that we can share with our clients, and really build on that personality.”
