Tamara Mellon, the glamourous face and founder of the widely successful luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo has decided to step down from her position as chief creative officer of the company.

Mellon, who co- founded Jimmy Choo (and subsequently purchased the company from the eponymous co- owner) in 1996 with a £150,000 loan from her father, is largely responsible for turning the luxury shoe company into a multi million pound business that counts the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Keira Knightley, Kate Hudson and Beyonce as devotees.

As the public and private face of Jimmy Choo, Mellon, seen above with actresses Thandie Newton and Frida Pinto, is an ex fashion editor that has become intrinsically linked with the luxury brand. Her departure - which comes only months after the company was bought for over $800 million by Labelux, a European private equity group, sees the end of her 15 year realationship with the company. Joshua Schulman, who is the current chief executive of Jimmy Choo, will also be leaving the company.

Details concerning her future plans or reasons for stepping down have not yet been revealed, however Reinhard Mieck, the chief executive of Labelux who also own Bally and Derek Lam said "Jimmy Choo is an outstanding brand with enormous growth potential and the ability to deliver material growth synergies across our group. With a successful transition behind them, we respect their wish to move on to other challenges,"

Tamara Mellon leaves Jimmy Choo