Professor Jimmy Choo Unveils New Talent At London Fashion Week

Over 800 guests gathered at St. Mary’s Church to see the JCA’s latest M.A. cohort on September 16. From drag queens to football hooligans, the diverse runway show had it all—even a closing concert from experimental pop duo Mermaid Chunky.

Since launching in 2021, the JCA (founded by Professor Jimmy Choo) has offered a unique proposition to the global education system. Part fashion school, part professional incubator, the facility is billed as more than an educational academy; it’s a canvas for collaboration—a co-working space for startups as well as a gallery and exhibition space for networking and events. The new Masters, Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation, was designed with enterprise at its core: Students establish themselves as freelancers and are encouraged to develop a commercial enterprise from the outset.

One of the 14 brands to present to the packed house was The English Man, helmed by menswear designer Sasha Clegg. For Clegg, JCA is vital for students who “want to learn the behind-the-scenes of running a business.” Her refreshing capsule “Mother Tongue” is a celebration of multicultural backgrounds—25-year-old Clegg is half Zambian and English and grew up in Scotland. The land of tartan, kilts and Harris tweed might have inspired the design, but here, these codes are subverted. They appear as icons cherished and humorous, turned into a refreshing take on contemporary identity.

“I chose JCA because there is no house style, meaning there are no limits when creating work. This attitude has allowed me to push boundaries within my work and develop. It’s a great place if you want to push the box as a designer,” she says. Another name to watch out for is Eleanor Hunter, whose sophisticated tailored collection was inspired by espionage and her grandfather—a WW2 spy.

The morning after the show, Choo— who achieved worldwide acclaim for his eponymous shoe brand—is upbeat and passionate. Showing no sign of slowing down at 75, he’s also the design director for The Atelier, a Malaysian eveningwear label that has shown at Shanghai Fashion Week. He travels to London every two months and is still highly active on the fashion week circuit.

Sharp and cheerful, he arrives in a slim, tailored navy suit with a baseball hat, noting his enthusiasm for being hands-on at the academy. “JCA is more than a business, it’s a legacy based on craft. It’s about passing on skills and knowledge,” he says. In fact, the Academy tailors the learning to each individual rather than offering a homogenous curriculum to a large number of students. It also provides hundreds of scholarships each year with the idea of removing the burden from many instead of supporting only one name.

The year 2022 saw the JCA add to its first Mayfair base with a second campus at Boston Manor in West London. This month, it will announce an enhanced partnership with the arts patron Professor Sarwar Khawaja, a British educationist, sociopreneur and philanthropist. His focus is on employment and securing the “future jobs” of the industry, including roles in materials and fabrication, which he believes will always be at the heart of fashion design.

“The JCA is about integrating students into the business and creating jobs that are sustainable both for the industry and the country. This is a hard time for fashion but the way we train them is to be entrepreneurs. They are already in business right now or ready to start,” says Khawaja, referring to the M.A. class, whose work was available to purchase after the collections and is now retailing online from graduates’ websites.

The pivotal role of the JCA in the fashion education system in the U.K.—a sector devalued by consecutive Conservative governments and currently without real provisions from the incumbent Labour —should not be underestimated. Choo is not short of funding. He has plenty of business leaders from around the globe offering to support the endeavor. But first he wants to build “a strong base and reputation” along with world-class design.

Before departing for his next meeting, he is warmly candid. “Tell me, which designer is a business person?” he asks. “But you have to know what you are doing and have faith. Then the money will follow. I know, I’ve been doing this for 40-odd years,” he laughs.