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On a rainy evening in Venice, multimedia artist Marco Brambilla opened a new exhibit—and a portal to a dreamworld.
The journey began at the entrance to Golden Goose’s Haus, a creative space and archive adjacent to the fashion label’s headquarters in the industrial district of Marghera that is currently serving as host to Brambilla’s “Altered States” exhibition.
Walking through the first two buildings—one featured a busy sneaker atelier and another an innovative design lab—guests took in a view of a stark, shallow pool flanked by a giant screen playing clips of characters from different films reacting to movies. Further inside the next building was a series of tunnels and dark screening rooms showcasing more spliced and diced clips, as well as sound waves, all meant to create a sensory experience exploring the synergies between dreams and our subconscious. At the end of the journey, there was a massive screen inside a hangar, with Golden Goose’s 25-year archive situated at the back, the facade made to look like the outside of a proper home.
Walking through “Altered States”, which will open to the public over the weekend, really felt like traveling through some kind of portal, one that spat us out inside a place where art and fashion were meeting in playful and surprising ways. As Brambilla noted, his work was about “creating synergies that seemingly don’t exist.” He added, “It’s a show about the idea that we can connect through our dreams.”
The curators of the project, Jérôme Sans and Golden Goose’s CEO Silvio Campara, emphasized the importance of fostering organic connections between artists and fashion labels like theirs. They wanted to, as Sans said, “create a real exhibition,” not something “corporate.” Campara echoed his sentiment, saying that “Altered States” is directly aligned with the ethos of Golden Goose and the world they’ve been building since it was launched in Marghera 25 years ago. “Dreams happen inside, but it’s also powerful when they happen on the outside, as a part of a collective.”
By dreams, Campara was really referring to imagination and innovation, two ideas at the core of Golden Goose. Inside that stark white shoe atelier that guests passed through earlier in the evening, artisans wearing lab coats printed with the words “Dream Makers” were hard at work crafting custom sneakers for the label’s devoted clientele around the world. In the archive, one was able to get a deeper understanding of Golden Goose’s history of collective, and collected, creativity. Francesca Rinaldo and Alessandro Gallo founded the label after traveling through America’s Southwest and California (specifically Venice, with its local skate culture) and collecting vintage clothing and leather goods, upcycling and reconstructing old garments to make them new again. Their distressed sneakers—a massive cult-favorite item of hypebeasts and fashion obsessives alike—took years to develop and perfect, as did their signature boots, ready-to-wear, and accessories.
Today, Golden Goose has 180 stores around the world, and all are designed in the same spirit and aesthetic as the Marghera Haus and headquarters. Everything always comes back to their home. The brand also has a hotel called Venice Venice on the main island, which has its own exclusive store concepts and rotating art curations in a spectacular yet intimate palazzo steps from the famous Rialto Bridge. Everything, from the decor to the merchandising to the art and programming, connects back to Margera, to the original dreams of Rinaldo and Gallo. Golden Goose is a thriving independent brand because they understand the importance of world-building and of fostering genuine connections between creatives. When art meets fashion in this way, the possibilities are endless.
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