To celebrate its 30th anniversary, British luxury house Jimmy Choo has unveiled Pearls of Wisdom. Reimagining the gemstone, a traditional symbol of three decades, this capsule collection is led by Creative Director Sandra Choi. Describing the pearl as possessing a “quiet, enduring power” , she says Pearls of Wisdom is “the perfect starting point as we mark three decades of Jimmy Choo.”
For this collection, pearls appear across shoes, bags, and jewellery. They’re clustered into floral corsages, draped over satin sandals, tucked beneath sculptural heels and, in one especially breathtaking moment, even blown up into a minaudière.
Pearls have been embedded in Jimmy Choo’s visual vocabulary for years. One of the house’s original boutiques featured alabaster travertine reminiscent of a plane of pearl, while its signature pink-grey packaging is named “oyster”. Over the decades, pearls have appeared as mother-of-pearl inlaid heels, embroideries, ankle straps and studs. For this anniversary, they take centre stage.
Pearls With Personality
Forget the prim strand of pearls reserved for special occasions. Choi is more interested in playing with the contradictions attached to the gem, where it’s precious yet organic, historical yet capable of feeling modern. That contrast is perhaps best captured by the house’s description of its pearl aesthetic as “punk with princess”.
The Ingrid Flat, for instance, starts with the codes of a sturdy men’s Oxford before being transformed into a blunt-toed mule in black leather. A cut-out across the instep is filled with clustered pearls, creating a decorative buckle effect and turning something pragmatic into something altogether more fantastical.
Then there is the Irina sandal, which takes a different approach. Perched on a 100mm heel, the satin style is strung with embroidered pearls and crystals that fall across the foot like layers of necklaces. Why choose between shoes and jewellery when you can flaunt both?
Elsewhere, baroque pearls form flower-like corsages across the Ines family and the familiar Bon Bon bag, lending the pieces the character of heirloom jewellery.
From the Ocean, With Love
The sculptural Ithaca pump takes its name from the Greek island whose rocks are said to be embedded with mother-of-pearl. Its undulating gold-metal wedge evokes waves, while three pearls sit discreetly beneath the heel like hidden treasure. Jimmy Choo also draws on Greek mythology, in which pearls are associated with the tears of Aphrodite, the goddess of love born from the ocean.
A fashion object that demands a second look, the Oyster Minaudière is a recreation of a baroque pearl rendered in plexi at an exaggerated scale and pierced with a golden bracelet handle. The Raindrops clutch, meanwhile, sends natural pearls cascading over white velvet in a waterfall-like arrangement suspended from a gold frame.
And on the black velvet Cloud minaudière, golden waves dotted with pearls leave the interpretation open. It evokes oysters revealing their treasures, gems tossed by the sea, or perhaps a gilded flower unfolding around the clasp.
The Wisdom of Looking Back
Pearls are formed gradually, accumulating layer upon layer over time. The house uses that process as a metaphor for 30 years of creativity and craftsmanship. Since beginning as an East London atelier in 1996, Jimmy Choo has grown into a global luxury house spanning shoes, bags, accessories, jewellery, eyewear and fragrance. Today, Choi continues to oversee the creative direction from the brand’s London studio.
The house describes the pieces as potential “future heirlooms”, designed to endure for the decades ahead, which feels like an appropriate bit of wisdom from a brand turning 30. And if that evolution involves cuddling a giant pearl as an evening bag? Even better.
