Ever since its founding by Francis Light in 1786, Georgetown played an important role as the place for foreigners to conduct their businesses and the shoe industry was developed since then.
According to the old cobblers, shoe-makers in Penang have mastered talents prior to the 1960s whereby luxurious shoes British wore were of leather shoes with hidden thread. It was time-consuming to make leather shoes and required excellent skills. Some of the apprentices were still unable to produce a pair of good leather shoes even after learning for four years. A skilled shoe-maker could normally make only a pair of shoes of hidden thread in one day, and some might need a couple of days!
During the early days, majority of leather shoes were made of leather or sheepskin and the shoe-makers were required to sew the thread through the skin of these shoes. Such thread-hidden shoes were out of trend 30 years ago and are considered as precious antique shoes by modern shoe-makers.
World renowned Jimmy Choo used to be an apprentice at Hong Kong Shoe Store in Georgetown, Penang. Jimmy Choo was born in 1961 in Malaysia to a family of shoemaker and it is believed that this was where his outstanding shoe-making skill was picked up from. After moving to London and training at Cordwainers Technical College - now part of the London College of Fashion -- Choo began to sell his handmade couture footwear in the late 1980s. Before long, his client list included famous names like Princess Diana, but his one-of-a-kind, handcrafted creations were out of reach for most women. The painstaking methods Choo used to create the shoes meant their availability was extremely limited.
That changed when Tamara Mellon approached Choo in 1996 with the idea of mass-marketing fashionable, high-quality footwear for women. In 1997, the two opened the first Jimmy Choo Boutique in London and began selling ready-to-wear women's shoes that were designed by Choo and produced at factories in Italy. It didn't take long for the company to find success: Celebrities, already familiar with Choo's handmade creations, snapped up the new line and quickly made the shoes a fixture on the red carpet and pop culture.
Jimmy Choo today offers a fresh selection of innovative, trendy shoes each season without abandoning the classic silhouettes that never go out of fashion. The company also makes handbags and clutch purses, which are frequently seen in the hands of celebrities.
Choo himself, who sold his stake in the company in 2001, continues to handcraft shoes in London under the Jimmy Choo Couture label. In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II made him an officer of the Order of the British Empire. Mellon and creative director Sandra Choi, who worked with Choo before the company's launch and is the niece of his wife, oversee the ready-to-wear collection. As of 2007, Jimmy Choo has more than 60 retail stores worldwide. The shoes are also available online and in department stores such as Neiman Marcus in the U.S. and Harrods in Great Britain, though certain styles are exclusive to Jimmy Choo boutiques.
From a personal side, you’d be surprise that Choo potters around at home in airline slippers! He designs his own shoes and his cousin makes them for him in London. He does wear high heels he made, especially when he goes to a club. This is because English are much taller than him and he has to use a three inch heel with a half inch platform at the front. 
Quote from Jimmy Choo – shoe-designing is an art form, it comes from everyday life, but it must be architecturally sound and aesthetically pleasing.
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