What Jimmy Choo’s Sandra Choi really thinks about the collaboration with streetwear label Off-White

Creative director Sandra Choi’s inspiration to wrap Jimmy Choo’s heels in plastic and launch them on the runway would never have been realised if it wasn’t for the brand’s encounter with streetwear label Off-White. 

“My first instinct was that Jimmy Choo and Off-White might not be the obvious match,” Choi says. “However, I went into it with an open mind. When the two brands got together, we managed to push the boundaries, and were able to show that it can be done.” 

Choi first met Off-White founder Virgil Abloh in 2016 at Jimmy Choo’s party in New York City when Abloh was spinning for the party. They quickly bonded and decided to collaborate. The result is a capsule collection – one of the most-talked-about collaborations of spring/summer 2018. 

“When coming to Jimmy Choo, I knew this would be a different experience. The team specialises in shoes and I was interested in perfecting my shoes,” Abloh says. “We came together and made magic in a glass slipper.” 

Naomi Campbell walked the Off-White show finale in classic Jimmy Choo stilettos wrapped in transparent plastic film. A-listers Rihanna and Bella Hadid were spotted trotting down the streets in satin thigh-high boots featuring ruched tulle, plastic-wrapped heels and padded boots with a slit down the middle. 

“It” girls Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and Hadid turned out at the collection launch last month during New York Fashion Week. 

The unlikely collaboration surprised fans of both brands. Choi brought the brand onto the streetwear scene,  and she says sophistication and poshness were the key words for this collaboration – the first of Jimmy Choo’s runway collections that will be for sale. 

Choi says the idea behind the plastic-wrapped style is about “preserving beauty” as well as a playful twist on Cinderella’s glass slippers – something fit for a princess.