Golden Goose 42

Luxury Italian brand Golden Goose has a golden formula for modern fashion. Known primarily for its line of handmade shoes, including sneakers and boots, the company has also expanded into clothing and apparel like coats and shirts. Even when new, Golden Goose sneakers feature a substantially vintage, lived-in feel complete with deliberate scuffs and scrapes. While Balenciaga, Prada and other luxury brands have earned acclaim for their fashion sneakers, Golden Goose sneakers — particularly their leather Superstar sneakers — are the products of a trendsetter label unlike any other. 

The maverick label was founded by husband-and-wife design team Alessandro Gallo and Francesca Rinaldo in 2000. They partnered with a close friend and Venetian tailor, and soon launched their first collection. Since then, the company has grown into a complete lifestyle brand encompassing clothing and other accessories.

In 2014, Golden Goose turned its attention to growing its retail footprint. The company opened flagship stores all around the world, expanding to more than 100 stores by 2018. Today, the company operates throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Its products continue to be made in Italy, with production sites in Veneto, Riviera del Brenta and around the country.

In 2019, Golden Goose opened a lab in Milan where clients can work with artists trained in the Italian sartorial tradition to create customized sneakers. To celebrate its 20-year anniversary, the company also opened a new headquarters in Milan in 2021.

On 1stDibs, find Golden Goose sneakers, clothing and accessories.

Whether they’re Hermès sandals, black Jimmy Choo boots, ivory-leather-and-pink-daisy heels by sublime shoemaker Manolo Blahnik or Christian Louboutin platform pumps, you can find your next pair of legendary luxury vintage and designer shoes today on 1stDibs.

Shoes offered by the likes of Versace, Chanel, Charles Jourdan or Prada are integral to completing your carefully orchestrated street-style or evening ensemble these days, but footwear wasn’t always the big deal it is for your average Adidas enthusiast.

The decorative floor-length gowns that upper-class women of the 18th century wore meant that their shoes, then likely featuring high curved heels finished with woven or embroidered silks — a sharp contrast to the heavy, rudimentary form of the era’s footwear for men — were partially or entirely obscured by the base of their ornate dresses. What good is fashion if it’s tucked away?

Our modern age’s legions of sneakerheads might have trouble tracking down a pair of black-and-gold vintage Jordans but can at least fill their dream closets with original Adidas Gazelles or 1980s New Balances if they put the time in, while 1990s-era Prada pumps or a good pair of mid-20th-century jewel-tone heels in satin or silk haven’t lost their allure with today’s nostalgic fashionistas.

A pair of shoes can commemorate an achievement, mark an important trip overseas and is sometimes a rich manifestation of a hard-won physical feat. On 1stDibs, find Chanel flats or two-tone heels, Christian Dior pumps, vintage Margiela Tabi boots and many more designer shoes today.