When it comes to street fashion, Alessandra Gold is the go-to maven of the sneaker. The bold fashion designer has rocked the Magic City and her fans around the world with her gold-and-silver Chrome sneakers, bringing together comfort and style seamlessly.
“It’s a hybrid of fashion with athletics,” she explained. “We pay attention to comfort and quality and how the shoes are really made.”
Originally from Brazil, the long-haired, shaved-head beauty settled in Miami after studying fashion in New York and living in Rhode Island. In 2009, she launched her Kruzin sneaker collection and has a brick-and-mortar store and showroom in Midtown. In September, she opened a new store in Lincoln Road especially for the Kruzin line.
What about Miami inspires you?
I love Miami—it was such a good move to come here! The showroom and our studio is located in Midtown near Wynwood ... so this whole boom that’s happening, this side of Miami in Midtown, the Design District, Wynwood area with all these artists everywhere, that’s a huge inspiration to me. When I go to Asia, which is basically where I finish all my designs, then I get inspired in the streets there. People in general all over the world inspire me.
Why the sneaker?
A lot of women wanted to start wearing more flats and this whole urban culture with sneakers started to pop about two years ago when Chanel did the whole show with sneakers, even the brides. [Karl Lagerfield] made sure people understood that a sneaker is a fashion item now. Some people were not interested in the ballerinas [shoes] or just flats. You want to have a stronger look, and sneakers will give you that.
With your new store, what can we look forward to with your Kruzin line?
We’re expanding the Chrome line, which is the gold-and-silver shoes that everybody loves. We’re calling it Liquid Chrome. You can expect more prints. We do collaborations with emerging and unknown artists all over the world. We did a collaboration with some Japanese and Hong Kong designers so you can expect more prints, more bold designs that are exclusive to the line.
Alessandra’s Perfect Day
11 am, The Haircut
I would go in the morning to my barbershop, Fademasters, on the beach, to get my head shaved—I have half of my head shaved. It’s the best, it’s a good start to my day.
1 pm, Get a Sweat On
I’m trying to go to the gym more, so I’d head to LA Fitness in North Miami to get in a workout.
3 pm, People-Watching
I really like Lincoln Road on Sundays when they have the farmers market. You have so much to do for people-watching. Then, you can go up to Juvia for a drink. I also like Babalu, a store downstairs in the parking lot; they sell our shoes, too! They have the most amazing perfume bar there, so you can see new fragrances.
7 pm, Dinner and Drinks
I love Southern food, so I would go to Yardbird on the beach for dinner. Then, go to the W South Beach to relax at the bar poolside. My favorite is their watermelon cocktail, it’s very refreshing.
9 pm, The Lounge
At Bardot, they bring a lot of emerging bands and new and cool people. Inside, it’s kind of like a living room. You have people coming and singing right next to you. It could be a reggae singer, an acoustic show, a DJ, a rock band, anything.
Midnight, A Midnight Snack
For a late snack, I like Gigi, the restaurant next door to Bardot. We work late a lot, so when you need to get something to eat, this is the place.
