Jimmy Choo's name has joined the roster of ultra-fashionable luxury brands name-checked by R&B stars like Beyoncé Knowles and on the television series Sex and the City. A cult following developed in the 1990s, ever since Choo, who hails from a shoemaking family in Penang (Malaysia), lent his name to the line of elegant woman's footwear. Choo built a small but profitable business, making handmade shoes for style-conscious women who could afford his customised wares. He worked on leather, as well as python and even fish skin – which took colour dyes quite well, he found – but his shoes were actually less expensive than traditional handmade shoes. The Jimmy Choo line also gained some priceless press attention when the 19-year-old twin daughters of former US President George W Bush wore Jimmy Choo cashmere stiletto boots on their father's inauguration day
in 2001. Famous for its stylish and suave shoes and bags, the company also has plans to diversify into manufacturing perfumes as well as eye gear, and has signed an agreement with the French beauty manufacturer, Selective Beauty, to produce as well as distribute perfumes.