Kaia Gerber Gets Real About Her Collaboration With Jimmy Choo

Believe it or not, Kaia Gerber likes to pack light. The supermodel can take her pick when it comes to fashion, whether she’s pulling from her own closet, her mom’s, or the runways on which she dominates, but when she’s crisscrossing the globe for work, she tends to bring along a practical, versatile wardrobe. That goes for shoes as much as for clothes. Gerber swears by her Jimmy Choo Cruz boots, flat, combat-style lace-ups that she says she “literally travels with for months and wears until I can’t wear anymore”. But now she’s got a few more styles to choose from.

On 2nd February, Gerber and Jimmy Choo will release a four-piece capsule collection inspired by her favorite Cruz boot and by her love of ’90´s style. (A preview of the collaboration is on the Jimmy Choo website). Along with Jimmy Choo’s creative director Sandra Choi, Gerber has designed a brown snakeskin version of the Cruz, as well as a tan suede ankle boot, a black mule, and a slingback kitten heel.

Fifteen percent of sales from the collection will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a charity that Gerber has been involved with since she was a five-year-old. As she explains, “The fact that they were so open and willing to help with the charity that I have always been very close to, that’s what makes me most excited about being a part of this collaboration.” She adds, “If I were at St. Jude’s, I would hope that there was someone advocating for me in the position that I’m in. I try and do that for those kids and give them hope and inspiration.”

Gerber had a strong point of view about the collaboration: She wanted to create practical, comfortable shoes for women who too often feel strained by ultra-high heels in their day-to-day lives. “I wanted to be able to wear these shoes all day and then out to dinner,” she explains. So she studied various fabrications and shoe constructions in order to figure out the ideal formula for a 24/7 collection, and decided that there was a lot to learn from the ’90s. “There are so many factors when it comes to designing a shoe,” she says. “I think that’s why, subconsciously, our shoes are so special to us. Not only because of the amount that goes into making them, but also because they’re holding us up all day.”