Tamara Mellon Confirms Launch of Eponymous Lifestyle Brand
The co-founder of Jimmy Choo will launch the Tamara Mellon brand in November, aimed at the busy working woman. Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon will launch her eponymous lifestyle brand in November. The highly-anticipated label will encompass women’s shoes and handbags as well as ready-to-wear clothing.
Aimed at the busy working woman, Mellon hopes the brand will rethink the traditional retail landscape through its “buy now, wear now” ethos that will see winter coats sold in September as opposed to the traditional July, reports the Financial Times.
Jumpsuits, cigarette pants, structured jackets and trench coats will form the basis, with Mellon’s penchant for leopard print also being included on the brand’s key items. Additionally, there will be a core collection of “basics” that will carry over from month to month. Prices are set to range from $295 (£190) for a cashmere T-shirt to $4,500 (£2,940) for a ponyskin leopard-print trench coat.
The brand’s debut offerings will be unveiled at New York’s Pace Gallery, and will then be available on tamaramellon.com and at stand-alone Tamara Mellon stores, which will open in New York and London in the final quarter of 2014. It is hoped that the brand will have some 60 store all over the world within the next five years.
Mellon has also revealed that the brand, which has been part funded by Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, hopes to expand into fragrance, sunglasses, cosmetics eventually.
She left Jimmy Choo in 2011, shortly after it was acquired by European private luxury group Labelux, amid rumours that she was unhappy with their plans to further the brand. 15 years previously, in 1996, she had founded the brand with Mr Choo after discovering him through her work as accessories editor at British Vogue.
The 46-year-old will unveil her memoir, In My Shoes , on October 3. The book is expected to offer a “candid” account of the many dramatic incidents that have made Mellon “who she is today”. She is also in the process of establishing a women’s rights foundation.
Sowray, Bibby. “Tamara Mellon confirms launch of eponymous lifestyle brand.” Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited, July 30, 2013. fashion.telegraph.co.uk
