Shoe master Jimmy Choo gives it all up to teach

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061129/lf_afp/afplifestylehongkong_061129145004

Shoe master Jimmy Choo gives it all up to teach Wed Nov 29, 9:50 AM ET


HONG KONG (AFP) - Shoemaker to the stars Jimmy Choo is ready to give shoe designing the boot and start teaching his skills to youngsters, he said.

Choo, whose often flamboyant designs have been worn by the likes of Madonna and Michelle Yeoh, said he felt he had proven himself as a designer and now wanted to pass on his talents.

"I want to be a hero, for all (parts) of my life," Malaysian-born Choo told reporters in Hong Kong, where he is a guest at a design expo.

"I'm a good designer, I'm a good shoemaker -- what is the next step for me? I want to be a good teacher," he said.

Choo said he had already begun teaching, and has lent his time to the London College of Fashion.

"Everyone can be a designer. As they say in Chinese, 'if you have a good master you will be a good student'," said Choo, who was taught to be a cobbler by his father in Malaysia.

"I like to travel around and show people how to make shoes," he added. "I respect my students and in return I hope they will learn something from me and go on to be great designers."

Born Zhou Yangjie to Hakka Chinese immigrants in Penang, Choo has risen to the top of the fashion pile, designing shoes for the rich and famous, including Princess Diana, and receiving Malaysia's equivalent of a knighthood, giving him the honorific Dato.

Now a British citizen, Choo confines himself to bespoke couture designs, having sold his ready-to-wear business to former Vogue editor Tamara Mellon.