Tamara Mellon transformed luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo from a small London boutique into a global phenomenon with 115 stores in 39 countries and $900 million in sales. Mellon, a former accessories editor at British Vogue, borrowed money from her father in 1996 to start the company with Jimmy Choo, a Malaysian-born cobbler living in London who was known for the bespoke shoes he designed for London’s high society. Mellon left the company in 2011 after a tumultuous 15 years and a reported $135 million payout. In her new memoir “In My Shoes,” Mellon recounts in detail the hardships, frustrations, discrimination and bad business deals that occurred behind the scenes of one of the fastest growing shoe brands in the world. Mellon visited The Daily Ticker studio to share her stories about the shoe business and give advice to entrepreneurs.

Looking back at the company she co-founded:

‘I still think [Jimmy Choo] is a fantastic company,” she says. “It will keep growing. It’s got great products and I hope I left them with a winner in their hands.”

How “Sex and the City” helped build the Jimmy Choo brand:

“It was something where the stars just aligned,” she explains. “We never pitched for it, we never knew it was coming. Years later I spoke to Candace Bushnell (the best-selling author of ‘Sex and the City’) and she told me she went to the store in London and loved the product. ‘Sex and the City’ turned Jimmy Choo into a household name. You reach a much bigger audience than you would through glossy magazines. It may not be the audience that can buy your core product but when you go into other categories like fragrance and sunglasses -- more aspirational products -- consumers can buy into part of the dream.”

On her new fashion label “Tamara Mellon” (the line's shoes, handbags and clothes will be available this fall at high-end stores like Bergdorf and Neiman Marcus):

“I’ve done a business model that’s season-less,” she says. “I am going to do monthly fashion drops. I am producing a real luxury product but I am taking a lower margin so I can deliver an amazing product to my customer at a better price. On ready-to-wear, it’s a high contemporary price so it’s $800 for a dress, $500 for a skirt, $600 for a jacket.”

How the global banking crisis changed consumers’ shopping habits:

“I think the financial crisis had a lot to do with people’s psychology when shopping,” she notes. “Women used to be ashamed to say, ‘I bought that in the high street.’ (i.e. Top Shop, Zara) And now they look smart when they mix something from the high street with something from luxury.”