News: Golden Goose's "breaking aesthetic" business dilemma: When the incompleteness of luxury goods becomes a double-edged sword
**(Introduction)**
At the Golden Goose flagship store in New York's SoHo district, a customer is paying an additional $150 for scratches on the upper - not traces of use, but "artificial damage" carefully created by brand craftsmen. This unconventional "breaking aesthetic" has allowed Golden Goose to grow into a luxury brand worth 4 billion euros in ten years, but it is dragging it into an unprecedented business ethical dilemma.
---
### **1. The business miracle of broken aesthetics**
**(1) Transformation from flaws to luxury**
In 2013, Golden Goose founder Francesca Rinaldo gained inspiration in the Venetian antique market: "The real value is hidden in the traces left by time." The brand's first "handmade old craft" transforms the wear, fading and even opening of sports shoes into selling points:
- **Premium Power**: The old model is 30-50% more expensive than the ordinary model (average price $550 vs $400)
- **Emotional Connection**: 85% of consumers believe that old design "gives shoes a unique story" (2024 Bain Report)
- **Anti-theft properties**: The old pattern of each pair of shoes is unique, and the imitation cost is increased by 300%
**(2) The rebellious symbol of Generation Z**
Brands successfully transform "imperfection" into identity identification for young people:
- The cumulative number of views on TikTok has reached 2.4 billion times
- 62% of post-95 buyers believe that "wearing old shoes is cooler than brand new luxury goods" (Piper Sandler survey)
- Cooperation with counter-mainstream stars such as Post Malone reinforces the "delicate and sloppy" aesthetic
---
### **2. Business crisis in the cracks**
**(1) The outbreak of durability doubts**
The 2024 California class action lawsuit reveals the core contradiction: consumers pay for "seemingly worn" but demand "actually durable":
- Laboratory tests show that tear resistance is reduced by 43% in old parts
- Real complaint cases:
- Los Angeles lawyer's $587 sneakers are glued after rainy days
- The artificial rift of Paris blogger expanded into a penetrating fracture after three months
**(2) Sustainability allegations**
Environmental protection organization Fashion Revolution released the "Fake Old Economy White Paper" and pointed out:
- Each pair of old shoes consumes 15 liters of water (8 liters of ordinary shoes)
- Acid aging agent causes leather to be unable to biodegrade
- The essential contradiction of "consuming new resources for creating 'pseudo-history'"
**(3) Secondary market value collapse**
Unlike the value preservation of other luxury goods, Golden Goose has a special depreciation curve:
- The new model resale premium is 15-20%
- After use, residual value plummeted to 30% (because it is impossible to distinguish between natural wear and design wear)
- The RealReal Platform's 2024 report shows that its resale turnover cycle is 2.3 times longer than Gucci
---
### **3. Brand redemption experiment**
**(1) Technical repair plan**
- **Reinforced Coating**: 2025 Spring and Summer Series Add nanoprotective film to the old parts (cost increased by $28/double)
- **Replaceable parts**: The tongue, lining and other vulnerable areas adopt a modular design
- **Digital Passport**: NFC chip records old process data for real verification
**(2) Narrative reconstruction**
- Reform the Craftsman Studio into a transparent laboratory, live broadcasting the old-fashioning process
- Release the white paper "Declaration on Damaged Aesthetics", citing Japanese Kinjo Philosophy
- Cooperate with MIT to develop biodegradable agents
**(3) Consumer Education Movement**
- New "life expectancy guide" added to product label
- Open "Shoes Hospice" course to teach customers to repair
- Introducing “durability points” rewards in the membership system
---
### **4. New Propositions of the Luxury Products Industry**
This crisis exposed a deeper industry paradox: when consumers pursue "immediate sense of vicissitudes" and "eternal quality", how can luxury brands balance it?
**(1) Competitor differentiation response**
- **Gucci**: Launching "Natural Aging Simulator" APP to visualize future wear
- **Balenciaga**: Developing special coatings that "momentally more expensive"
- **VEJA**: Counterattack with "Real Wearing Traces" Plan
**(2) Critical thinking in the academic world**
"The essence of the Golden Goose dilemma is the failure to commoditize the 'value of time' - the real vicissitudes cannot be achieved quickly," said Marco Bertini, a professor at Harvard Business School.
**(3) Consumer Cognition Survey**
The 2024 McKinsey Survey shows a contradictory mentality:
- 73% believe that luxury goods should be durable
- 68% admit to being attracted by "old design"
- 41% said they were willing to pay 25% more for "durable old-fashioned models"
---
**(Conclusion)**
In the historical archives at the headquarters of Golden Goose in Milan, there are a pair of test samples that have been traveled 2,000 kilometers - those naturally formed folds and cracks, which are far more vivid than those imitated by craftsmen. This may reveal the ultimate answer: the true broken aesthetic takes time, the most luxurious raw material. For Golden Goose, how to find a balance between business and reality will become a key battle to define the next generation of luxury.