Tamara Mellon brand exits Chapter 11 after restructure

Tamara Mellon's eponymous brand has made a swift exit from Chapter 11 and has emerged with a new model to sell direct to the consumer.

The luxury brand, established by the former chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo in 2013, was placed into the US legal state of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month to give it time to find additional funding. It has since found funding with new partner New Enterprise Associates.

According to WWD, Tamara Mellon said the new funding and restructure would enable the business to focus on selling direct to the consumer via online and brand-controlled stores. "We look forward to implementing this revitalised approach, shortening the design and manufacturing process, and further enhancing our mission to provide customers with the fashion they want to wear, now,” she said.

The brand, which includes shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear, is currently sold on the brand's own website and in multi-brand stores and e-stores, such as Net-a-Porter, Mytheresa.com and Nordstrom.

Mellon, a former Vogue accessories editor, established the Jimmy Choo brand in 1996 with the footwear designer Jimmy Choo. The pair parted company in 2001 but Choo's niece Sandra Choi stayed with the brand and was appointed sole creative director in 2013.

Mellon herself exited Jimmy Choo in 2011 following a public falling out with its owner Labelux. In July last year she accused the Jimmy Choo brand of attempting to scupper the success of her new label by preventing suppliers from doing business with her, a claim the brand denied.