Hardback: Who is Tamara Mellon?
"The Sunday Times once wrote that I seemed less an 'actual person than the heroine of some dicey Danielle Steel bonkathon'. The basic Danielle Steel conceit is to take a plucky heroine, set her on a quest, and then subject her to every villain and viper and obstacle imaginable, which, I suppose is not an entirely bad summary of my life so far."
When Tamara Mellon's father lent her the money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: "Don't let the accountants run your business." Little did he know. Over the next fifteen years, the struggle between 'the suits' and 'the creatives' would dominate, as Tamara Mellon's business savvy and design flair built Jimmy Choo into a premier name in the ultra-competitive fashion world.
Tamara Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion dollar brand. She became the Prime Minister's trade envoy and was honoured with an OBE for services to the fashion industry. Vogue photographed her wedding, Vanity Fair covered her divorce and the criminal trial that followed.
It was never an easy road. Her seemingly glamorous beginnings in the mansions of London and Beverly Hills were marked by a broken family life, battles with anxiety and depression, and a stint in rehab. Determined not to end up penniless and under the control of her alcoholic mother, Mellon honed her natural business sense and invested in what she knew best: fashion.
In creating the shoes that became a fixture on Sex and the City and Hollywood's red carpets, she relied on her own impeccable sense of what the customer wanted - because she was that customer.
Jimmy Choo's success came at a high price - including epic struggles with a first CEO, a turbulent marriage, a brutal takeover attempt, and a mother who tried to steal her hard-earned wealth. Now, as she builds her next fashion venture, Tamara Mellon finally shares her whole larger-than-life story.
In My Shoes (2013) is a must-read for fashion aficionados, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone who loves a juicy true story about sex, drugs, money, power, overcoming adversity and high heels. In My Shoes is dedicated to Mellon's father, Thomas Yeardye, who inspired her through her darkest days, and to her daughter, Minty Mellon, who makes it all worthwhile.
In 2014, Mellon was presented with the Fashion Pioneer Award at the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards held in New York City.
When Tamara Mellon's father lent her the money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: "Don't let the accountants run your business." Little did he know. Over the next fifteen years, the struggle between 'the suits' and 'the creatives' would dominate, as Tamara Mellon's business savvy and design flair built Jimmy Choo into a premier name in the ultra-competitive fashion world.
Tamara Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion dollar brand. She became the Prime Minister's trade envoy and was honoured with an OBE for services to the fashion industry. Vogue photographed her wedding, Vanity Fair covered her divorce and the criminal trial that followed.
It was never an easy road. Her seemingly glamorous beginnings in the mansions of London and Beverly Hills were marked by a broken family life, battles with anxiety and depression, and a stint in rehab. Determined not to end up penniless and under the control of her alcoholic mother, Mellon honed her natural business sense and invested in what she knew best: fashion.
In creating the shoes that became a fixture on Sex and the City and Hollywood's red carpets, she relied on her own impeccable sense of what the customer wanted - because she was that customer.
Jimmy Choo's success came at a high price - including epic struggles with a first CEO, a turbulent marriage, a brutal takeover attempt, and a mother who tried to steal her hard-earned wealth. Now, as she builds her next fashion venture, Tamara Mellon finally shares her whole larger-than-life story.
In My Shoes (2013) is a must-read for fashion aficionados, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone who loves a juicy true story about sex, drugs, money, power, overcoming adversity and high heels. In My Shoes is dedicated to Mellon's father, Thomas Yeardye, who inspired her through her darkest days, and to her daughter, Minty Mellon, who makes it all worthwhile.
In 2014, Mellon was presented with the Fashion Pioneer Award at the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards held in New York City.
About the authors: Tamara Mellon, OBE, is the co-founder and the former CEO and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo, which she led for fifteen years. Since selling her share of the company, she has focused on creating a new eponymous lifestyle brand. She divides her time between London and New York.
William Patrick has co-written numerous memoirs, including Sidney Poitier's number one bestseller The Measure of a Man (2007). He is an editor, book doctor and ghost-writer and has also written two well-regarded suspense novels.
William Patrick has co-written numerous memoirs, including Sidney Poitier's number one bestseller The Measure of a Man (2007). He is an editor, book doctor and ghost-writer and has also written two well-regarded suspense novels.
No comments:
Post a Comment