Golden Goose has launched its latest “Dreamed by” collection, this time designed by famed Tattoo Artist Dr. Woo. 

Dr. Woo has become one of the top tattoo artists for pop culture figures and celebrities. Now—continuing his focus on blending tattoos with fashion, music, and art—Dr. Woo is expanding his expertise into new artistic mediums and mixing in his signature style. 

The “Dreamed by Dr. Woo” collection consists of two pieces and one limited-edition collectible art piece. A crew-neck sweatshirt and a pair of Super-Star sneakers are loaded with tattoo-style details, with Dr. Woo’s lucky number 55 in a water-based print on the back of the sweatshirt and his signature spider symbol embroidered on the sneakers.

For the collectable art piece, Dr. Woo designed a porcelain plate inspired by classic Venetian damask. The decorative piece is embellished with beautiful tattoo-style designs using a pad printing technique called decalcomania.

The collection is part of Golden Goose’s ‘Haus of Dreamers’ series, aimed at building a community of artists from many different creative backgrounds—which will be called “Haus”—through events and collaborations around the world.

For the series’ first event, Golden Goose spotlighted five renowned artists—Fabio Novembre, Quannah Chasinghorse, SUNMI, Suki Waterhouse, and, of course, Dr. Woo—to create performances/collections with their own personal style while incorporating the brand’s home city, Venice.

VMAN sat down with Dr. Woo to talk about the collaboration, working with multiple artistic mediums, and Venetian influence.

VMAN: What was it about Golden Goose and the ‘HAUS of Dreamers’ program that enticed you to work with them?

Dr. Woo: I love their dedication to honoring craftsmanship and the love they have for creativity and quality production, uplifting their roots by amplifying the artisanal craft importance of their home city of Venice.

VM: What did your overall process of bringing the pieces to life look like? What was it like using so many different mediums, from decalcomania to embroidery to more classic print?

DW: It was very seamless and organic. The creative team was a dream to work with, very few notes and the outcomes aligned very much with what I was hoping; there wasn’t any room for a less than promised vision in the ideas and execution.

VM: How did you bring your experience as a tattoo artist to the collaboration? Did working with different mediums change how you approached your style and way of storytelling?

DW: Throughout the years, being a tattoo artist and an artist myself, dealing with other projects and mediums helped me work on this project with an open mind and understanding that the stories we tell aren’t limited to certain categories or boxes, and that the overall narrative of what you want to tell in the spirit of you as an artist can be seen and felt in anything.

VM: What about Venice, its culture-rich history, and Venetian damask inspired your designs for the collab? Did fusing both Venetian and your signature iconography, from your spider symbol to the number 55, come together naturally? Or was there more of a separation between the two storylines?

DW: Mostly, I think it was just learning about the artisanal craft and Venice as a city, how they were created, and how important those art styles and spirit within the city helps a creative and using those motifs. With that kind of ideology, I blended things I was known for, and iconography very close to me to create what we did, and the number 55 is my lucky number.

VM: How does working with graphic designs and decalcomania relate to working on skin? Did you find a similar kind of creative expression in these pieces?

DW: I think when it comes to something like this again, it is your personal vision as an artist that finds you and also speaks for you without words, per se, and at the end it doesn’t matter if it’s on skin, or in other forms, do you want the story and the feeling of you to be felt and told visually.

The “Dreamed by Dr. Woo” collection is out now and can be found in select stores or online at goldengoose.com.