Jane Fonda, Sneakerhead

The activity that Jane Fonda, the 87-year-old Oscar winner, activist and aerobics queen, is most associated with these days is probably environmental protest (well, that, the “Grace and Frankie” series and the “Book Club” film franchise). She did, after all, move to Washington, D.C., in 2019 specifically to draw attention to the climate crisis, getting arrested pretty much every Friday while staging sit-ins at the Capitol. Then she swore off buying new clothes, even for the red carpet.

All of which makes her an unlikely choice to front a new luxury sneaker campaign. But for Silvio Campara, the chief executive of Golden Goose, the brand known for its prescuffed sneakers with the sparkly star on the side, she was his only choice. As to why she agreed to do it … well, that’s a whole other story.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Were you surprised when Golden Goose got in touch?

I don’t do a lot of campaigns because I’m not friendly with a lot of brands. But my manager said: “This is a cool company. They have responsible practices.” And I said, “Well, you know, I like their sneakers.”

So you were already wearing the sneakers?

Two and a half years ago, I was making “Book Club: The Next Chapter” in Rome, and I would walk every day and look into stores, and there were so many cute sneakers with sequins and sparkles. That’s when I found them. I like the combo of sneakers with glitter and a very structured suit. I think that’s cool.

How many sneakers do you have?

Quite a lot because I don’t throw them away. I don’t want them to end up in the ocean. I have many, many dozens of all kinds of sneakers, starting with the old colored Reebok high-tops.