Golo

Golo is probably best recognized for the invention of the go-go boot in 1964, the look that came to define an era of footwear. The brand's go-go boot was worn by Barbra Streisand and photographed by Richard Avedon for the August 1965 issue of Vogue, an image that helped cement its place in fashion history. That single design is the brand's lasting signature.

It is, with a genuinely long history. Golo Footwear was established in 1915 and built a reputation for invention rather than imitation, most famously the go-go boot. The recognition runs deep enough that, by 2006, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held 22 different examples of Golo boots, shoes and sandals in its collections. For lovers of mid-century design, that pedigree is the draw.

Golo Footwear was established in 1915 by the German immigrant Adolf Heilbrunn. The company began by designing and manufacturing slippers in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and grew from those modest roots into a name known for adventurous footwear design.

Golo built its reputation on materials not traditionally used in footwear. The company was known for working with cork, stretch fabrics, Gore-Tex for rainboots, and clear lucite sandal wedges. That willingness to try unconventional materials is what set the brand apart from more conservative shoemakers of its day.

Because Golo's designs are treated as objects of fashion history. By 2006 the Metropolitan Museum of Art held 22 different examples, including an over-the-knee boot made of different-colored patent leather zip-on layers, stretch patent leather boots designed for Jacques Tiffeau in 1967, and denim platform boots designed by Leila Larmon and Stephen Bruce. The variety shows how much creative range the brand had.

Golo is probably best recognized for the invention of the go-go boot in 1964. The design's place in pop culture was sealed when Barbra Streisand wore Golo's boots in an Avedon photograph for the August 1965 Vogue. It is the brand's defining contribution to fashion.

Yes, in a revived form. The Golo brand was bought by Dennis Comeau and relaunched in 2013, bringing the historic name back after its earlier chapter. Anyone exploring the label today is engaging with a brand that carries a century of footwear history behind it.

In Pennsylvania. The company initially designed and manufactured its footwear in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where it started out making slippers before expanding into the boots, shoes and sandals it became known for.

The boots are the heart of the story. Golo's name is tied above all to the go-go boot it is credited with inventing in 1964, and its most celebrated archival pieces, the ones the Met collected, are boots in patent leather, stretch leather and denim. If you want the essence of the brand, start with its boots rather than its slippers, where the design daring is clearest.