Tamara Mellon

Tamara Mellon OBE (née Yeardye; born 7 July 1967) is a British fashion entrepreneur who co-founded the luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo.

She founded her namesake luxury footwear brand, Tamara Mellon, with co-founder and CEO Jill Layfield and Tania Spinelli, chief data officer, in 2016.

[3] Mellon began her career at Phyllis Walters Public Relations, Mirabella; in 1991 she was employed as an accessories editor and assistant to Sarajane Hoare at British Vogue.

As co-founder of the Jimmy Choo company, Mellon secured funding from her father for the creation of her business and she sourced material from factories in Italy.

Equinox's chief executive, Robert Bensoussan, became CEO of Jimmy Choo Ltd, introducing handbag and small leather goods collections.

[8][9] Pursuant to the bankruptcy reorganisation plan, the American private equity firm NEA made a $10 million cash injection into Mellon's business.

[10][11] In January 2016, Mellon's former backers filed an objection to the restructuring plans under American bankruptcy protection laws, stating that the scheme would allow her, her fiancé, and a fund to gain control of the new company, leaving former financiers with no repayment.

The objection had accusations of mismanagement and abuse of the company, including a life coach on the payroll and an expenditure of $100,000 for tickets to the Met Gala in New York.

In September 2016, it was revealed that Mellon was suing Jimmy Choo Ltd, alleging that the company had blocked her from using luxury shoemakers in Florence, Italy to produce her own line.

[14] On 9 November 2010, she was named as a "global trade envoy for Britain" by the British government, intended to have a "roving brief" to promote the country's fashion industry overseas.