The Dream Room located in Golden’s Goose’s new headquarters in Milan.
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE Written by Craig Kaminer
While browsing iconic department stores and boutiques in New York during the height of the pandemic, it was clear the trend of luxury sneakers is still hot and here to stay. The handmade Italian fashion footwear line Golden Goose best reflects how people are living, working, commuting, and dressing now and for the foreseeable future. The line of distressed sneakers and bags started as a passion project of founders Francesca Rinaldo and Alessandro Gallo, a couple from Venice who were outsiders to the world of fashion. Since its inception in 2000, it has grown from a company of $20 million in sales to more than $320 million in 2020. Golden Goose expects to grow another 35 percent in 2021 and has attracted private equity from Permira, a British global investment firm, and fashion industry superstars Silvio Campara to serve as CEO and Maureen Chiquet as Chairwoman to build the global brand. Although competing with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and Christian Louboutin, Golden Goose has emerged as a distinctively excellent Italian brand inspired by vintage fashion --
initially because the founders didn’t have the money to buy new luxury goods. Shoe prices start at $500 for men, women, and kids. While expensive, they are roughly half the price of other luxury brand sneakers. In a world of fashion sameness, Golden Goose customers are as original as the brand; seeking creativity, authenticity and relevance to make a personal statement and reinforce the uniqueness of their identities. According to Silvio, “Everything we do at Golden Goose goes against what I learned before I came here from Alexander McQueen and Armani. We are about scarcity, word of mouth, and making people feel relevant...not important. I was asked to not work the way I had before, not to worry about replenishment or assortment, but rather to focus exclusively on customizing the fashion and the experience for every customer. At first it was hard as it went against everything I thought I knew, but I decided I just needed to trust the vision and grow the business without changing the founding values.” The results speak for themselves.
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