30 years of Melvin & Hamilton - Travel through time with our gallery

It’s 2018 – A very special year for us as a brand, because we will celebrate Melvin & Hamilton’s 30th birthday this year! 30 years ago, an idea became a brand which evolved into a distinctive shoe label with a strong identity. We would like to take you on a trip through time.

⁰¹ 60s and 70s – Review of the childhood of the founders sons

The sons of brand founder Rajab Choukair, who discovered his passion for shoes in his first job as a sales representative for a shoe company, grew up surrounded by shoes and suitcases. Ever since they were small they would play with shoes which helped them to develop their own taste in designs, shapes and colouring of shoes.

⁰² 1988

Everything started in 1988 – the idea became a brand and it was launched on the German market. Rajab Choukair founded Melvin & Hamilton in 1988 and his sons, Karim & Olivier, followed every step from the very beginning – while being great help by giving endless ideas of creation. Early on they even started to design their own collections.

⁰³ 1988-1990

Round about this time trends from the UK came over, Derbies and Oxfords became a real fashion statement all over Europe. Melvin & Hamilton adopted these types of shoes and gave them homemade twists right from the beginning. Traditional manufacturing with special sole designs and colours. It is this high quality that offered quick success to Melvin & Hamilton.

⁰⁴ 1990s

As a family business every spare minute was used for the corporate design and brand building of Melvin & Hamilton. Of course, without today’s technologies, office and active support of employees.

⁰⁵ 2000s

The very first production took place in Turkey. However the quest for greater integration of details, material purchasing, vegetable leather tanning and polishing, could no longer be processed in the local factories. So, Karim and Olivier Choukair decided to move their production to India where you can find the highest quality of leathers. Also, the typical Melvin & Hamilton style is very popular in the old British colony in India. 

To this day, there is still an intensive support on all the production steps, the brothers regularly visit the factories to ensure continued quality.

Also, a lot has changed in the company! The first employees were hired, storerooms were rented, the office became bigger, the interest of the press grew, in more and more shops people could find shoes of the Choukair collection and also an online shop went online in 2012! With increasing know-how and increasing experience, the brand has become better known, bigger and more successful.

⁰⁶ And today?

Today we look back on 30 exciting years of company history, with all its highs and lows. Do the founders regret something? Does it really feels like 30 years and do they want the family tradition to continue? We will experience this during this special anniversary year!