Preziosa

These flat slip-on ‘PREZIOSA’ trainers were made by the London-based luxury shoe brand GINA, and came from their Autumn/Winter 2015 collection. The soles are rubber and the uppers are made from red nappa python leather and are heavily embellished with red Swarovski crystals – a staple of the GINA look. GINA described this style as “the epitome of urban sports luxury and sophistication interpreted in true GINA style […] the go-to trainer to run ahead of the fashion crowd.”

GINA was founded by master shoemaker Mehmet Kurdash in 1954. Kurdash, a Turkish Cypriot, had started his career working at his uncle’s shoe factory in Cyprus as a teenager. After settling in London he started his own handmade shoe business, eventually building up enough capital to establish a factory in Dalston, where the company was based for the next forty years. Kurdash took as his muse the Italian film star Gina Lollobrigida, who had achieved international fame in the 1952 French film Fanfan la Tulipe, and made her English-language debut in 1953’s Beat the Devil, in which she starred alongside Humphrey Bogart.

GINA was and still is known for creating luxurious and glamorous accessories, using high quality materials including Swarovski crystals. The company is now run by Mehmet's three sons and remains very much a family business. In 2011, the company relocated to a 40,000 sq. feet factory in Tottenham, north London, showing their long-term commitment to keep production in London. They describe themselves as “the last and only British designer label creating luxury footwear in London today.”
The company did however experience some financial hardship after investing in the move to Tottenham. One of the ways they combatted this was by creating a new line of trainers, seeking to appeal to a wider market. This was apparently a successful venture, as trainers have featured in every subsequent collection. As such, these trainers represent the modern era of this brand with a long and significant London shoe-making heritage.

These shoes were donated to the Museum of London by the GINA company in 2021.