14 DAY TRIAL // Tamara Mellon may not be a name that rings a bell with many but that doesn’t change the fact that she is one of the most powerful and influential women in fashion and showbiz today. Co-founder of Jimmy Choo with the designer that came to personify the brand, she was among the first to dress celebrities for the red carpet at a time when no designer even considered of doing so. She is head of an empire estimated at £500 million – and which she plans to sell as soon as possible, Grazia informs.
Reports in the British media say Mellon has made up her mind about selling Jimmy Choo for an asking price of £500 million. Of this, she will walk away with no less than £100 million, which will literally make her one of the richest people in the UK, the same reports say. However, perhaps the most amazing thing is that all she needed to start Jimmy Choo was an investment from her father of £150,000 many years ago.
“Jimmy Choo Founder and President Tamara Mellon is said to be close to selling her company, which is worth up to £500 million. The former fashion editor built the company up over 14 years from its humble beginnings back when Choo himself was a little-known shoemaker. She and her investors ploughed money into it, eventually buying Jimmy himself out of the business,” Grazia says.
Mellon and Choo have become fixtures both in the fashion world and in celebrity circles. A-list clients include Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham – but Mellon also left her mark as regards the more average wearer (though still with plenty of money to spend). In recent months, Choo announced collaborations with H&M for an affordable line of shoes for British ladies, as well as with Ugg, which turned out into a very profitable line of comfort meets chic. The reasons behind the decision to sell have not yet been made public.
“It’s thought that Tamara would make £100 million from the sale as she owns a fifth of the £500 million fashion group. Yikes! Her wealth – both family and self-created – is hardly the most interesting thing about her though, not by far,” Grazia also underlines.
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