Understanding what’s relevant in culture today helped define Golden Goose as a modern-day luxury label, shared Silvio Campara, chief executive officer of Golden Goose, throughout the WWD x SKP Fashion & Beauty Global Summit in Chengdu. 

“Should you don’t have 100 years of heritage, the one thing you need to keep everlasting and preserve are values. The heritage and the culture need to evolve inside that,” Campara said of the Venetian sneaker brand founded greater than 20 years ago.

“Today it’s about giving voices to numerous people, which we commonly call communities, but inside a framework of values,” Campara said of the Golden Goose luxury proposition, which focuses on the commitment to innovation, the valuation of craft, look after people and engagement with communities.

Campara said COVID-19 completely redefined how consumers make product selections, going from “transactional to sentimental.” 

“Previously, the product was a approach to define your status. Today, the product is becoming a memory of a moment,” explained Campara in a conversation with WWD editorial director James Fallon. “Your goal isn’t the wallet anymore. It’s the guts of the people.”

“You see it, especially in China, which is on the forefront of this evolution,” added Campara, who noted the complex consumer journey that shoppers must undergo before reaching a pair of Golden Goose’s distressed Super-Star sneakers.

With a product that sees beauty in distress and wrinkles, Campara desires to remind consumers that shoppers can own the moment “that’s connected to your life experience, not together with your status.”

“That is our way of becoming timeless. We’re connected to moments which might be unforgettable for people,” Campara added.

“Whenever you go to the posh shop floor and also you get to Golden Goose, you see no star designer. So at Golden Goose, you might be the protagonist, so all the pieces goes into co-action and co-creation,” Campara said.

Early this 12 months, Golden Goose expanded its footwear repair, remake, resell and recycling program Forward Stores, launched a 12 months prior and applicable to products from any brand, to its e-commerce platform. 

“In our case, it’s about an evolution, not a revolution, and if a luxury brand has to evolve, you’ll be able to do two things: one is by changing the pricing, but in our case, it’s by changing the angle,” Campara said.

“Desirability has been driving this industry for a long time, but I feel kindness can be the following driver, and the concept that Golden Goose is making you are feeling cared about is improbable.

“Our idea is that Golden Goose might be the following Levi’s 501, the following Ray-Ban, it could possibly be the product that you just never throw out, you never resell, because there is simply too much of you to be given away,” the CEO said.

“My idea is easy: I can speak to the 1 million customers that bought our shoes previously. I can even grab recent customers with an angle that’s completely different than brands like Gucci and Prada, which isn’t fighting on the trends and fashionability front, but serving them on an emotional level,” continued Campara, who revealed that the posh shoemaker already reached 600 million euros in sales this 12 months. Greater than 12 million pairs of Golden Goose sneakers have been sold previously 10 years.

Currently, 196 Golden Goose stores, or 80 percent of its retail network, have repairing capability. The corporate can be opening two recent factories, one in Venice and one within the U.S., to expand its shoe repair program, which is applicable to products from any brand.

Campara also revealed that the corporate will launch an academy next April in its birthplace of Venice. 

“This can be a spot where art will occur. Artists from any sort of art form, from visual art to sculpture and architecture, can have the possibility to learn and be given a voice,” Campara said of his vision.

With a healthy growth trajectory, the Permira-owned Golden Goose is viewed by many as a possible IPO candidate. Campara, who joined the corporate as business director in 2013 and has now grow to be a predominant shareholder, is open to the concept of taking the company public. 

“We’ve all the time been owned by an investment fund, so technically, the connection between dreaming and executing has all the time been quite strong and well executed,” Campara said. “By going public, it’ll be simply to make this dream part available to an even bigger audience.”