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After a lifetime of shoemaking, the world-famous Jimmy Choo's top tip for the perfect shoe will probably surprise you.
Beauty and comfort are important, but Choo said he would not have created such iconic footwear without one particular ingredient.
"You have to love people before you love yourself," he said.
"If you know how to deal with people everything will be peaceful and I think you've got patience then.
"If you've got patience and you design something … you have all your patience.
"You can come up with some quality stuff then."
Professor Jimmy Choo, who has been awarded the title of "visiting Professor" by the London Institute, no longer owns the iconic shoe brand he created after he sold his shares in 2001.
He now goes by the name Professor Jimmy Choo to distinguish himself from the brand and prevent copyright issues.
The 68-year-old has chosen Queensland's TAFE Brisbane to continue his love of education and pass on his almost 60 years of experience in shoemaking.
"People ask why the Kung Fu master passes on the Kung Fu," he said.
"I want to pass on my Kung Fu — but it's how to design, how to make a shoe."
The designer said he was concerned the art of shoemaking was dying.
"All the handcrafting is very difficult now," he said.
"Not many people want to learn how to handcraft.
"But if you have creativity and no skill, it's difficult."
Lessons learned from Australian visit
Choo's father was a reputable shoe designer in Malaysia and when he was young he spent time on the island of Penang working as his father's apprentice, before travelling to London in the 1980s to study footwear at Cordwainers College — now part of the London College of Fashion.
His trip to Brisbane has not only been to impart knowledge but also to learn.
Choo has visited a kangaroo leather company in Narangba with the intention of taking back knowledge of how to mould the leather to his design students in London.
Sunshine Coast shoe designer Jackie Orme Ward, who also uses kangaroo leather to make some of her shoes, said it was humbling to have Choo compliment her work.
"His mind is just constantly working at teaching you everything he can cram into a conversation," she said.
"Coming down to the level of talking about stitching and skiving leather and looking in a tannery like this at the process of leather, he's so interested in every stage of the process.
"He gave me lots of advice about how to go forward with my business which was really exciting."
Sally Brindley-Mills, a shoemaker and senior design teacher at Brisbane's TAFE, said the art of shoe design was staging a comeback in Brisbane.
"It has become a lost, dying art but now it's actually having a resurgence," she said.
"Bespoke is becoming more popular.
"[Choo] has designed and makes shoes for people like Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and also has done things for Princess Diana in the past."
Choo 'giving back to the people'
Ms Brindley-Mills said Choo's expertise would be invaluable to her TAFE fashion students when he coached them in a masterclass in Brisbane on Saturday.
"That in itself is amazing that he is giving back what he knows to the people," she said.
"It is a big plus for the industry."
Choo announced on Friday he would fund a scholarship for TAFE Brisbane's fashion school for a student with a passion for shoemaking.
He also donated several items including an original shoe design sketch valued at $10,000 to go to silent auction, with the proceeds to be donated to TAFE Brisbane.
Topics: design, fashion, university-and-further-education, qld, brisbane-4000