Her tenure took in economic collapse but the 15 years Tamara Mellon spent at the helm of Jimmy Choo also saw a change of consumer mindset, and a boom in sales and following that means even the most ordinary wardrobe now resembles that of Imelda Marcos.
The footwear mega-brand, which announced Mellon's departure last weekend, has, along with Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, become a household name. And the cult of footwear just keeps growing with the increasing Sex-and-the-City-fication of our lifestyle.
It isn't just the high-end labels that have done well from it. A pair of Choos can cost more than NZ$2,000 but there are countless colourful and crazy designs across the board.
There are several theories for the emergence of our footwear fetish: you don't need to diet to buy shoes; they'll fit regardless of water retention; they feel like a treat. But one thing is unarguable: the fact that normal people - not just the fashionable élite - would now countenance spending upwards of NZ$500 for things that get dragged along the floor all day is telling of a cultural acceptance of what might at first seem like sartorial excess.
And don't assume that people are spending all this money on sensible brogues or a nice pair of winklepickers - the shoes that Mellon and her ilk have made us fall in love with are frothy and fantastical creations, bedecked with ribbons, beads, curlicues and furbelows. They are tall, pointy, platformed and uncomfortable. We teeter, stagger and clutch at handrails - but still we buy. On the face of it, it's the biggest waste of money known to man, or rather, woman.
