Sarah Jessica Parker in step with fans in Dubai

It’s been 16 years since the world was first introduced to Carrie Bradshaw, the shoe-obsessed fashionista immortalised by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. The award-winning series has long completed its run and the last feature film it spawned, Sex and the City 2, was released in 2010.

So why did Parker, whose famous character once called her shoe obsession her ‘substance abuse problem’, take so long to cash in on that phenomenon?

“I was just waiting for the right partner,” says Parker, 49, who’s in Dubai to launch the SJP Collection, her shoe label named after her initials, and meet fans at Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale’s. “A lot of people, for a number of years, have been very generous and offered a lot of opportunities. But I wanted to create a collection that was well made, that was going to be relevant in the closet for many years.”

Parker has partnered with Manolo Blahnik CEO George Malkemus III for the three-piece collection.

“A lot of partners who were smart and successful wanted me to create a mass collection. But to do that, I felt [it was] a betrayal of some kind. Creating a shoe for $49 [Dh179] or $69 is a great idea, but how long will it last, what will the quality be and what’s the comfort and most importantly, would I wear it? And if I’m not enthusiastic and excited about the collection, then who am I to ask anyone else for their hard-earned dirham?”