INTERVIEWER: Thank you, thank you Holly.
And welcome, Tamara.
We're so excited to have you here today.
TAMARA MELLON: I'm excited to be here.
INTERVIEWER: So before we jump into it,
I have to call out the elephant in the room.
TAMARA MELLON: OK.
INTERVIEWER: I am only wearing one Jimmy Choo shoe.
I wanted to wear two, but one was really all I could muster.
Have you ever been interviewed by someone only wearing
one shoe?
TAMARA MELLON: No I haven't.
This is a new experience.
INTERVIEWER: OK, hopefully we can make it a great one.
So your new book, "In My Issues,"
is a very honest memoir, a tell-all if you will.
As Holly mentioned about your early career at British "Vogue"
through to co-founding Jimmy Choo,
and then exiting the company and really turning
a new leaf in your life.
So why now?
What prompted you to write the book now?
TAMARA MELLON: Well, starting a new chapter,
I thought it was a great way to close one chapter
and enter a new one.
And I also thought, no one's going to really believe
what was really going on behind the scenes at Jimmy Choo.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, there's some pretty salacious stories
there-- really, really exciting and challenging, certainly.
So you're somewhat of a self-taught business women.
In the book, you talk about your father's influence.
Tamara's father, for those of you that don't know,
co-founded Vidal Sassoon.
So, a very savvy businessman in his own right.
But you talk about how he offered you insights
and guidance, but a great deal of your learning
was through trial and error.
So for example your experience with private equity
deals and your troubles there.
So for those of us in the audience who
have an entrepreneurial bent, or perhaps
want to start our own companies, what advice do you have?
TAMARA MELLON: Well when I set out, when I founded Jimmy Choo,
you know obviously my goal was to make beautiful shoes.
I didn't realize that I'd be getting into the private equity
world.
And I entered it because Jimmy decided
to sell his shares in 2001.
And obviously he had a right to sell them to whomever wanted.
And that's how private equity came into the business.
So I had to learn very quickly.
I was dealing with investment bankers, the financial world,
and so it was really a self-education.
INTERVIEWER: Definitely.
And something you just mentioned,
going through the business world,
I imagine that sometimes it felt very much like a man's world.
What were the challenges that you
found in being a woman in this sometimes man's world?
TAMARA MELLON: It was-- yeah, I faced things which I really
didn't expect to face in today's world.
Very much as a woman, you still get diminished and discounted.
Your Opinions are very much discounted.
And strangely enough I ended up being
on the board of Jimmy Choo with 10 men.
And I was the only woman, which is sort of illogical, really,
if you think about it.
And also I was dealing with unequal pay.
So discovering all these things on my journey
was also part of why I wrote the book.
Because I wanted to really address a lot of these issues.
And things I noticed about women's behavior
in the workplace compared to men was very different.
And I wanted to address that in the book as well.
INTERVIEWER: Fantastic, yes there's
definitely a theme of empowerment as a woman,
as a businesswomen in the book.
You also have some fantastic charitable efforts
that we'd love to hear more about.
TAMARA MELLON: Well I'm going to be starting a foundation when
the Tamara Mellon brand.
And its to work on women's rights,
for gender discrimination and equal pay
and also dealing with the sex-slave trade.
INTERVIEWER: Wonderful.
Wonderful.
You became something of a celebrity
during the course of running Jimmy Choo shoes.
A funny out take from your book, which I loved,
someone came up to you and asked for your autograph
on their receipt from their first pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.
So a great indicator of this fan base that you created.
So I'd love to hear a little bit more about that experience,
and how you really leveraged it to build the brand.
TAMARA MELLON: What's important for a brand,
particularly starting off, is that you
have someone that embodies the brand, and a story to tell,
and someone that they can buy in to, or identify with.
So really, if you think about most big brands,
they have a personality attached.
And you buy into that person.
You buy the story they're telling.
Because when you're also creating a brand,
you're creating a woman.
So it's a fancy in my head, maybe,
about the woman I want to be.
And maybe other women want to be that as well.
So when you're creating the product, when you're creating--
it's one woman, it's her world.
And it's a vision.
INTERVIEWER: And you really lived that life to a degree.
TAMARA MELLON: And then I ended up-- I didn't expect that.
But then when we realized that journalists wanted
to do interviews about the company,
that was really the only one who could do it
because I was creating the product
and I was running the operations of the business.
So that really I was the only one
that could speak to what was going on in the business.
So it happened to me by default, really.
And then once you're in the limelight,
then people become fascinated with your personal life
and they become sort of-- so it all kind of opens up.
INTERVIEWER: Right.
So you talked a little bit about really understanding this woman
that you're catering to and her aesthetic.
With the launch of your need collection, the Tamara Mellon
Namesake Collection, which is coming out very,
very soon-- it includes ready-to-wear accessories,
handbags, and more.
What type of woman are you designing for?
You mentioned a lot that you inject your own personal DNA,
you know, being a working mother, as well as
a globetrotter, being very modern.
These are aspects that we've seen in the Jimmy Choo line.
Are they things that we'll also see in the Tamara Mellon line?
TAMARA MELLON: Definitely it follows with me
because it's my DNA.
But in a very modern way.
The most exciting thing with the new brand
was starting with a clean slate.
And thinking about the woman today, particularly
with the business model.
That's very different.
Of our psychology and how we want to shop today.
Because the world has changed since I started Jimmy Choo.
We're living in a very different world.
INTERVIEWER: Right, right.
Well nobody's a bigger digital enthusiast than we are.
And the way you're using digital to launch your new brand
is very, very interesting.
You're really turning the traditional model on its head.
So you're leading with digital.
The e-commerce platform is going to be pretty much
the primary outlet for this brand with brick and mortar
locations coming up later next year.
Can you tell us a little bit about that strategy?
TAMARA MELLON: It's-- when I looked at the way we live
today, what happens is a fashion show goes up online as soon
as it happens.
And everybody sees it.
And that never used to happen.
Only the press and buyers would see the fashion show.
And the customer would see the product
when it was in a magazine and went into a store.
So as a customer, we're looking at that product for six months
before it gets into the store.
So by the time it's the shop floor, we're a bit like,
oh god, I've over it now.
I've looked at it for too long.
And we want the next new thing.
And also the world is-- we're buying
things in the wrong season because the department
stores have really pushed to get things on the floor
early so they can sell it.
They can beat their customers, which means we've ended up with
coats on the floor in July, spring/ summer dresses going
in in January.
Who wants to but that?
I don't want a coat in July.
And I don't know any woman that wants to do that.
Or who can even think about a product
that they're going to wear in four months time.
You want to buy something now and you
want to wear it tomorrow.
So I have a business model that is seasonless.
And it goes into stores monthly.
And it's a different fashion concept every month.
But it's what you're going to want to wear in that month.
INTERVIEWER: Interesting, interesting.
And how are you finding that this
is being received in the fashion industry?
Because again, this is not the traditional model.
I don't know why you're the first person
to do this because it makes so much sense.
But I'm wondering how you found the reception.
TAMARA MELLON: The customer is clear and loud, yes.
I mean I love communicating with my customers
on Twitter and Instagram.
And the messages I'm getting back
is thank god someone's finally doing this.
This is what we want.
So the customer is there.
The industry, we're pushing them a little bit
to get on board with it.
Department store, you know-- they bought it.
We're going to be in Bergdorf's, Nieman's, and Net-a-Porter.
Net-a-Porter is actually there.
They're also pushing designers to do it.
But the traditional bricks-and-mortar department
stores are worried about, well if you have new product going
in January when all our autumn/winter is on sale, how's
it going to look on the floor?
How's the customer going to react?
But I'm pushing, and I'm just saying,
you know what, just test the customer
because I know it's what she wants.
So I think once they see the customer's response,
then they'll really get behind it.
INTERVIEWER: So this isn't the first time
you've pushed the envelope.
With Jimmy Choo, you definitely pushed the creative envelope
and launched new products.
What was your favorite throughout your time
being there?
Was there a specific collection or project
you worked on that comes to mind as being a favorite?
TAMARA MELLON: Oh I have a lot of babies from Jimmy Choo.
But I would say my favorite things
are animal prints, leopard prints, zebra, I love fringe,
studs, glitter.
So if you see a product with any of those things on, you know--
INTERVIEWER: A little bit of rock 'n roll, OK.
So just going back to your new collection,
the way it's being released, this
puts an even larger importance on staying ahead
of trend, which is something that fashion brands grapple
with all the time.
How do you manage to say ahead of trends?
TAMARA MELLON: Well a normal fashion brand designs
a year ahead.
And it's often what you want in you life then.
But you've got to wait a year for it.
It's very frustrating.
So now I can design something.
And I can have it on the shop floor three months later.
So from design, from a sketch, to on shop floor,
it's a much shorter window.
So I can really gauge the temperature of the customer
and what we're feeling and what we
want right then in that moment.
INTERVIEWER: OK, OK.
So you are all about taking on challenges
and reinventing yourself to a degree.
What's next for you?
TAMARA MELLON: Next?
I've hardly started this one yet.
INTERVIEWER: Well in your book-- I'm
sure you guys will all enjoy reading it--
but Tamara takes on challenge after challenge,
often at the same very time.
So while you were working on Jimmy Choo,
you also started reinventing Houston.
TAMARA MELLON: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: And so it wouldn't be out of character
for you to take on multiple projects at the time.
But I could completely understand
if a vacation was what you needed in the near future.
TAMARA MELLON: You're absolutely right actually.
While I was writing the book, launching a new brand,
I decided to renovate my apartment at the same time.
INTERVIEWER: Yes.
TAMARA MELLON: So yeah.
INTERVIEWER: And you have a young daughter
Minty Melon whose name I'm very jealous of-- that's
the best name ever.
And you're splitting your time between New York
are London as well.
TAMARA MELLON: And yeah, I have a design studio in Paris
and here in New York.
All my shoes and bags are manufactured in Italy.
I'm working with the same factories
that I've worked with for 15 years.
So it's a pure luxury product.
But what I'm doing is I'm going to take a smaller margin so I
can deliver an amazing product to my customer at a more
affordable price point.
And then also the ready-to-wear is--
what I've done with the pricing is actually
an interesting hybrid.
Because the ready-to-wear dress is about $800,
a skirt is $600, which is a contemporary price point.
It's not a pure designer luxury.
If you had a brand at that price point,
you'd normally find the shoes at $300.
INTERVIEWER: Right.
TAMARA MELLON: But my shoes are higher
because they're pure luxury.
So I have high contemporary clothing, and pure luxury shoes
and bags.
INTERVIEWER: Is there a brand in the luxury
space or the contemporary market,
or even unrelated, that you think
is doing a really great job of establishing themselves
as a brand but also activating themselves digitally?
TAMARA MELLON: Burberry has been a real pioneer in that area.
And I'm really working with social media today.
Because for me also it's different from when
I started Jimmy Choo.
We didn't have social media.
And times have changed.
And just having that direct communication with the customer
is the most important thing today.
When I started Jimmy Choo, there was a new wave.
Accessories where exploding.
And magazines realize that if they put an actress
on the cover, their readership went up.
So the whole celebrity and fashion relationship started.
And that's why I took Jimmy Choo to the Oscars
within the first two years of business.
But today, it's very different now.
Now it's direct the customer.
Is communicating with them on Instagram, on Twitter,
on things like YouTube, Android.
All these get you direct communication,
which is what they want now.
INTERVIEWER: Do you find that there's
a challenge between asserting yourself as a luxury brand
but also having that two-way communication,
because that's certainly a lot of what we hear in the luxury
sector, that you want to establish yourself
as being elite and sophisticated and top-of-market, but also
approachable and someone that you
can communicate with as a brand.
So do you have any strategy in terms of social media
and how you're going to structure
that for the Tamara Mellon line?
TAMARA MELLON: I think that being elite
is an old-fashioned view.
I think you can be absolutely luxury
and still communicate with your customer.
So, no I'm direct all the time, myself talking with them.
And I don't think designers should sit in their ivory tower
and not communicate with their customer.
INTERVIEWER: Right, you mentioned Twitter.
Is your favorite social media platform right now?
TAMARA MELLON: I like Instagram.
Yeah, Instagram is a really fun.
And now you can put little videos out, which is great.
Yeah, so Twitter, Instagram.
We still do pretty much everything.
INTERVIEWER: Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Well thank you so much for sharing all this with us.
We love your new book.
Again it's at the back if anyone would like to pick up a copy.
I'd love to turn it to the audience
and ask if you guys have any questions, anything
we haven't touched on.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]?
TAMARA MELLON: In November.
Yeah, it'll be in Bergdorf's, Nieman's and Net-a-Porter
and Harrod's in London in case anyone's there in November.
AUDIENCE: I have one.
You mentioned, while you were in your discussion,
that at one point you were one woman out an entire board
of all men, especially for products
that are targeted towards women.
How did you feel in those moments?
And was there ever a time where you had to strongly advocated
particularly from like a female perspective?
TAMARA MELLON: The difficult thing
was that all the men on my board were from the private equity
industry.
So your interests are not really always aligned
with their interests.
They're really looking at just getting [INAUDIBLE] profits up
so they can sell.
They want to come in and out as quickly as they can.
And as a founder, you really care
about the quality of the product, the people working
in the business.
And also, what's very difficult for them, because it's not
tangible, is it's an emotional business.
It's an emotional connection with the product.
So you could predict something that's
going to sell in the future but they may not
have the confidence to put the money behind it because they
don't understand why.
But it's just an emotional connection.
INTERVIEWER: So I have one last question before we wrap.
You share with us so many personal stories
in "In My Shoes," really difficult things that you went
through your childhood, in your adult life.
And something that really shines through as you read the book
is how resilient you are.
And that you use these tumultuous experiences really
to become a stronger person.
And that's something that led you
through even to your business career.
How did you manage to do that?
Because I think that's something that we as people
struggle with.
And you've done an amazing job at just growing and becoming
even stronger through those difficult times.
TAMARA MELLON: Well part of it really
is growing up in an alcoholic home.
It actually-- the only benefit, you
have a very high tolerance level for abuse,
or dealing with difficult situations
because you're used to it.
Other than that, and then knowing really it's
believing in yourself.
You've just got to believe in yourself.
And passion.
You've got to keep following your passion.
I always say, passion is the number one thing.
Once you have that, everything else follows.
But I think because I was so passionate
about the product, and that company,
it ran through my veins like the blood runs through my veins,
that I kept fighting for it.
INTERVIEWER: OK, well thank you so much again.
It was a pleasure having you here.
Best of luck with the new collection and everything else.
I'm sure we'll hear about something else
that you're launching very soon.
TAMARA MELLON: Thank you, thanks for having me.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you so much.