What's the future of luxury? Creating memories and co-designing with buyers, says Golden Goose CEO

What makes a luxury product truly luxurious? “Memories,” says Silvio Campara, the chief executive of Italian luxury brand Golden Goose. It’s known for its handcrafted, distressed sneakers with a shiny star on the side, created with the idea that the lived-in look reflects life—imperfect but authentic.

Campara was in India last month for the launch of the brand’s Mumbai store. Golden Goose first entered India in 2024 and has two other stores, in Delhi and Bengaluru. The Mumbai launch included the unveiling of a sneaker co-designed with Manish Malhotra.

While elaborating on the “memories” response, Campara refers to the unique offering of the brand: anyone can walk into its 220-plus stores across the globe and customise their pair of sneakers with artwork, embellishments, charms and brooches, making the consumer the co-builder of their purchase.

In an interview, Campara talks about the evolving sneaker space, the Indian consumer and why the future of luxury is not so much about constant product novelty but creating experiences. Edited excerpts:

What makes India an interesting place for you and your work?

Fashion mirrors society, and among the many forces that shape society, demographic shifts remain one of the most influential. The average age of a consumer in the US and Europe is 39; China and Korea, 36; Japan, 51. India is 24, which is quite young and it tells you that there’s ample scope for it to become the next big luxury hub given the growing aspirations and spending power. Plus, India has one of the oldest cultures in the world. So it’s young (given the large number of youngsters), which pushes you to innovate, as well as old, which makes you want to stick to traditions. That tension is powerful; it’s the same tension Golden Goose is built on (Italian craftsmanship and co-building products with customers).

Most international luxury brands enter India through partnerships with local conglomerates. You chose to come directly.

I want to understand the Indian way of consuming luxury. Technically, there’s no benchmark, no other brands’ experiences, since most international luxury brands enter here through an intermediary.

India is just 0.0 nothing percent of my revenue right now, and that’s fine. There are two ways to look at the world—through numbers or through people. I belong to the second category. Frankly, I am not focused on making, say, $60 million in the first few years of my business here. In the initial years, I’m trying to improve my understanding of the local community. We will see results in three years… I’m confident. The Indian consumer is aware of the brand. They have seen and consumed the brand while travelling the world. Consumers have come to us, and now we are coming to them.

The sneaker market, especially the homegrown one, has grown exponentially in India. What’s your growth strategy?

We’ve been serving Indian citizens for years now. Typically, Bengaluru customers are approaching the brand in California. Delhi customers are approaching the brand in London and Mumbai, in Dubai. Our data is telling us clearly what’s going on and how big the potential is. It’s about how fast we are able to amplify the message inside the country.

Sure, not all of the one billion are technically addressable as potential clients. But on an aspirational level, they are all important to us. Revenue is always a good consequence of the execution you have in setting your vision and mission. Luxury is no longer just about the product. It’s about the emotional connection. For younger consumers especially, the goal is not just to look good, but to feel connected to a community and themselves. And Indians, especially, love that.

How do you build a community?

We are super lucky because we don’t have a heritage to defend (the brand was founded in 2000). We have nothing to lose, while 99% of the luxury brands have a lot to lose. Most of them have been setting their business on desire while our business is centered on love. Building a love brand needs listening to customers, and not telling customers something. So we don’t do fashion shows, billboards, all those things. We’ve been erasing the fashion risk completely. I don’t have one designer; I don’t have one person to rely on in terms of creativity because you can be the most genius person on planet Earth in terms of design but the world is changing every day. Youngsters are crafting their own content 40, 50 times a day. So then how do you create a genuine, relevant product? By allowing every person to be the designer of their own product. I think that’s the future of luxury.

As soon as you are involved in the creative process, the item is not anymore a product. It becomes a memory… a memory of something that really matters to you, because it is your creativity, and your expression. So while other luxury brands are building an idea of desirability around their products, we are trying to make consumers feel they are telling their own story.

Golden Goose is also focused on repairing old sneakers and including AI in the design process.

I’m 46 now, and I remember with my ma and grandma (helping me care for) my old pair of Levi’s, my old sweatshirt from Best Company… all those brands that were my love brands when I was 10, 12, 13, 14. When we started the repairing programme (in 2022), it was my way to offer the new generation that was normal to me and it helped me appreciate something I have much more. I don’t want people to come to my stores to buy something. I want them to come to do something.

As for AI, we have recently collaborated with Google on Gemini to help customers co-create through AI. We are starting now in the US and Europe first, and then we will introduce it in other markets.

What will be big in the sneaker space in 2026?

I don’t think the world is looking for the next new sneaker. There are enough brands that are doing performance sneakers, the one that you can run the fastest or jump the highest. But everyone is looking forward to the new experience they can get from their sneakers.