As a scion of the famous Choo shoe dynasty, Lucy Choi has a rare claim to the fashion elite. Her sister Sandra is the Creative Director at Jimmy Choo, and the sisters were given a unique glimpse into the luxury world few could imagine when they would visit their uncle, one Mr. Jimmy Choo, at his workshop as children. As an adult, Lucy could have worked for Choo, designing shoes to gratify the fashion pack while living a risk-free life.
Instead, she has carved her own path, working first in the corporate world, then cutting her teeth at French Sole before embarking on her eponymous line with a difference. Lucy’s vision? To fuse luxury with affordability.
When we met at Granger & Co. for breakfast to talk about Choi shoes, I realised Lucy’s path is in keeping with her character – she is not a woman who is afraid to take chances. Not only did Choi start her brand in the depths of the recession, but she also decided to extend her family around the time of the launch. Heavily pregnant when we met, Lucy was not only firing on all cylinders, but had lugged a huge bag of shoes as well as her baby bump up the road just so I could see their quality. I was glad she did. So impressed was I by their wearability and affordability that I brought my mother and sister to the press launch and we all came away with a fair few pairs.
The shoes: beautifully made and yet surprisingly comfortable. I mentioned this to Lucy who was delighted: “I really strive to make them as comfortable and durable as possible – it usually takes six or seven goes to get them right.”
Before I left, I asked Lucy who she’d most like to see wearing her shoes. “Well, I’d like to think I’ve made a collection everyone could wear, so I suppose both Kates would be on my dream list,” she said, referring to Middleton and Moss. Somehow I don’t think the Kates will take long to cotton onto these.