Why Are Golden Goose Sneakers So Expensive?

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As many fashion-savvy individuals know, a pair of Golden Goose sneaker fresh out of the box is intentionally designed to look like its lived many lives. The soles and upper may appear scuffed and faded as though they’ve taken quite a few trips around a city block.

Controversial as this aesthetic may be, the artisans behind the Italian brand work hard to achieve this worn-in look — and the brand correspondingly sets a hefty price tag for the distressed sneakers.

Some consumers take issue with the idea of forking over $615 — or hundreds more — for a shoe that doesn’t look brand new. Others fully embrace the trendy used and weathered look and happily pay the price. Certain Golden Goose sneaker releases over the years have been more contentious than others. In 2018, an extremely distressed pair featuring duct tape as part of the design was targeted online as lacking sensitivity to underprivileged people. Still, the brand remains popular, with stars like Zayn Malik and Michael Phelps wearing the label.

Love them or hate them, FN is breaking down why Golden Goose sneakers are so expensive below.

How are Golden Goose sneakers made?

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Like many famous luxury brands, Golden Goose shoes are handcrafted in Italy, where the brand places an emphasis on local production and elaborate craftsmanship. The brand’s 12 shoe factories in Italy are responsible for the creation of the company’s footwear collections. Golden Goose says that a pair of sneakers involves more than four hours of artisanal work which follows a process that leaves no two shoes exactly alike. The company has also shown a commitment to preparing the next generation of skilled craftspeople. It houses an academy to train artisans within its Haus of Dreamers space located in Marghera, Italy.

Why are Golden Goose sneakers so expensive?

Suffice to say, the more individualized effort that goes into making a shoe, the higher the price attached to it. Notably, luxury brands are known for spending more on their materials and producing smaller batches of products. Like other luxury brands, the shoes can also sell for such steep prices because of their perceived importance as a high status item.

An explanation of the brand’s core tenets on the company website reads in part, “In pursuing our goal to stand out with our innovative artisanal products, we’ve become synonymous with extremely high quality, meticulous attention to detail, and our iconic lived-in signature. Our ambition is to contribute to bring the Italian handmade tradition to the world, promoting craftsmanship excellence and local manufacturing.”

Is the Golden Goose brand successful?

Despite the hesitancy of some potential customers, Golden Goose has experienced notable growth in recent years, earning 587 million euros in sales in 2023. The company was planning to go public earlier this year, but halted its IPO in the spring, citing market volatility.

“The financial market and the real world are quite disconnected,” CEO Silvio Campara said at the FN summit in June . “What is happening now in Europe, with elections in France and the UK, will soon happen here in America. So, elections are freezing the world for the next couple of months, and we are waiting for a much more calm and steady market scenario to go public. I don’t think now would be a good time to be represented in the market. But we will be back.”

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