WHEN even Jimmy Choo, the brand known for its sky-high and dramatic shoes, sets its Spring-Summer 2010 collection towards “tracing the foundations of the brand” and “going back to basics”, you know the era of practical luxury is upon us. No longer concerned with just high-end brand names, customers demand (and are given) what they want — longevity, style and intricate craftsmanship that go with the high price they pay for luxury goods.

But if you are thinking that Jimmy Choo’s designs have mellowed to suit a more practical pursuit in footwear, you are mistaken.

The strikingly strappy neon Zap adds 13cm to your height. So do a pair of the platform Zena and the peep-toe zippered boot Zest.

This is Jimmy Choo after all, known for its gravity-defying footwear and endless appearance on HBO series Sex And The City that elevated the shoe brand into iconic status.

The new collection, says its Malaysian brand manager Yeoleene Yeow, is “easy to wear, looks painful but is actually very comfortable”. So determined is the brand to convince the Press about the comfort of its shoes that the preview was done in the boutique to enable journalists to try those dramatic shoes.

(If you ask me whether they are comfortable, I must tell you that I’m a flat-footed woman who buys mainly flats from Vincci, Nose, Tod’s and Chanel. Frankly, I have reservations that Choo, Louboutin, Zanotti et.al. could ever convince me to walk in heels. At least not on a daily basis.)

But the brand also has its share of flats, including Witney flats which are sequinned into a snakeskin pattern, Wiki flats in patent leather with stones at the tip and the star-studded Western in calf leather embossed to look like snakeskin. Choo’s idea of going back to basics extends to its handbags as more carriers are made with snake-embossed leather (meaning calf leather treated to look like exotic skin).

Quite a clever move since snakeskin is famously fragile — not to mention pricey — and a woman’s handbag (like the Rahmyn or the star-studded Ramona) needs to be tough enough to handle daily wear and tear.

Another example of practicality is Flo, the brand’s version of a camera bag modelled on the traditional 1970s zippered two-pocket style.

The chestnut hide and top-stitching evoke a sense of old-world charm. For summer, the brand also has its first basket bag, Bazli, in a curved shape.

It’s made from raffia and trimmed with a deep band of cocoa leather and buckled straps.