Welcome to Pantofola d’Oro! This blog will introduce you to our brand, with a look at our heritage so that you can understand how we’ve come to be known for our legendary authenticity, and what goes in to making our football boots and sneakers.
Pantofola d’Oro was founded in 1886 under the name of Calzaturifico Lazzarini, making us one of the oldest Italian luxury brands in the world. Like many sports footwear companies, we began as a family owned shop, creating shoes in Ascoli Piceno, a small town in central Italy, famous for its Renaissance architecture and grandeur.
In the 1950s, we started to specialise in custom football boots for our local team and other Italian football clubs, quickly becoming the bootmaker of choice for professional football players. has been unwavering in its commitment to have that luxurious, unmistakably Italian style.
At the end of this decade, we were discovered by John Charles CBE who was playing for Juventus, winning the hearts of Italian football fans, making a name for himself as a gentle giant and earning a reputation as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Great Britain. Charles is credited with changing our course in history, describing our football boots as ‘golden slippers’, giving us a new name, giving us visibility on the world stage and championing the craftsmanship and legendary authenticity that made us stand out from our competitors.
Our updated name, Pantofola d’Oro, literally translated to “slippers of gold”. In more recent years, we’ve made it easier for footballers to buy our products globally, and partnered with the finest football retailers in the UK, Europe, Japan, and beyond.
At the time of writing, our football boots have been spotted on the feet of the Czech Republic footballer Antonín Barák, whose shoe of choice is the Pantofola d’Oro Superleggera 2.0 Leather Football Boot.
We also started making lifestyle sneakers, for fans to wear off-pitch, and we’ve gained some incredible endorsements from celebrities, such as TikTok influencer Addison Rae, who loves our Pantofola d’Oro Sneakerball Women’s Sneakers in the bright pink tongue and matching pink 3D Vibram sole.
Our commitment to quality has also won praise from the famous lifestyle and fashion website, Hypebeast, who helped us to celebrate our partnership with UK men’s fashion store HANON, announced the launch of our Sneakerball collection, and headlined our KidSuper x Pantofola d’Oro collaboration.
The Pantofola d’Oro name is one of the most recognisable Italian leather footwear brands. We frequently reference our archives to surface retro logos and share our heritage with our current fans, usually in gold to echo the excellence that sits at the heart of our brand. Customers' favourites include the ‘bouncing ball’ logo is taken from our 1980s designs, and our distinctive three stars which you’re most likely to see on our football boots.
Currently, Pantofola d’Oro is still a privately owned company. This means that it has the flexibility and freedom to explore new ideas and technologies and work with its customers to develop and shape new collections.