Buffalo
Buffalo is a German footwear and fashion-accessories brand best known internationally for its platform shoes. German footwear brand known for chunky soles and combat boots.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Buffalo is a German fashion brand headquartered in Cologne and owned by Buffalo Boots GmbH. Although its range extends beyond footwear into clothing, hosiery, swimwear, underwear, and small bags, the brand is primarily associated with shoes. Its assortment has included women's and men's footwear across multiple categories, including platform shoes, dress shoes, western and biker boots, skate shoes, high heels, pumps, sandals, over-the-knee boots, and flip-flops. Buffalo achieved its strongest international visibility during the 1990s and early 2000s, when highly elevated platform shoes became prominent in European youth and pop culture. The brand's platform designs were particularly associated with the era's clubwear and fashion trends. The 10-centimetre platform model 1310-2 became widely recognized after being worn by the British girl group the Spice Girls. A version of the same model with a 20-centimetre platform further emphasized Buffalo's distinctive, exaggerated silhouette and helped establish the brand as a recognizable name in statement footwear. The brand's identity has been built around visually prominent shoes rather than a narrow functional footwear specialization. Its historical assortment combined fashion-led women's styles with men's dress and casual footwear, boots, sandals, and other seasonal categories. Buffalo also developed apparel and accessory products, including shirts, jackets, trousers, skirts, hosiery, swimsuits, undergarments, and small baggage, allowing it to operate as a broader fashion label rather than solely as a shoe manufacturer. Buffalo benefited from renewed interest in 1990s fashion during the late 2010s and early 2020s. Between 2018 and 2022, Buffalo Boots released updated versions of selected iconic platform designs, including the 1348-14 and various Tower models. These releases connected the brand's historical platform language with the revival of 1990s-inspired fashion and helped keep its signature chunky, high-platform aesthetic relevant to a new cycle of consumers. The available reference material does not establish a founding year, founder, current executive leadership, detailed ownership structure beyond Buffalo Boots GmbH, financial performance, or a current official website. Buffalo should therefore be understood as an active, Germany-based footwear-led fashion brand whose strongest documented cultural association is with platform shoes and the Spice Girls era.
History
Buffalo is a Cologne-based German footwear and fashion-accessories brand operated by Buffalo Boots GmbH. The available reference material does not identify the company's founding year or founder, but it documents the brand's development primarily through its footwear and its later cultural visibility in European fashion. The brand's assortment has historically covered a broad range of footwear. Women's products have included platform shoes, high heels, pumps, sandals, over-the-knee boots, and flip-flops. Men's offerings have included dress shoes as well as western, biker, and skate styles. Buffalo has also offered clothing and accessories, including shirts, jackets, trousers, skirts, hosiery, swimsuits, undergarments, and small baggage. This breadth positioned the label as a fashion brand with footwear at its center. Buffalo's most important documented period of cultural recognition came from the popularity of its platform shoes in Europe from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s. The brand's designs used conspicuous platform heights and a substantial silhouette that fit the period's clubwear, pop, and youth-fashion trends. The 1310-2 model, produced with a 10-centimetre platform and also available in a 20-centimetre version, became especially well known. Its association with the Spice Girls gave Buffalo significant exposure beyond the specialist footwear market and made the model a recognizable emblem of late-1990s pop fashion. After the peak of that original platform-shoe wave, Buffalo's historical designs remained relevant through the later revival of 1990s fashion. From 2018 to 2022, Buffalo Boots released 2.0 versions of selected iconic platform styles. The documented revival included the 1348-14 and different Tower models. These updates represented a product-led effort to reconnect the brand with its most recognizable design codes while participating in a broader return of 1990s-inspired clothing and footwear. The supplied sources do not provide enough information to document a detailed corporate chronology, changes in ownership, manufacturing locations, financial results, executive appointments, retail partnerships, or formal advertising campaigns. They also do not identify scandals, lawsuits, recalls, or regulatory controversies involving the brand. Buffalo's documented history is therefore best characterized by the expansion of a footwear-led fashion assortment, its breakthrough cultural association with the Spice Girls and European platform-shoe culture, and the later reintroduction of selected archival designs.
- 2022
Continuation of archival platform updates
[1]The brand's 2.0 revival program continued through the 2018–2022 period and included the 1348-14 and various Tower models.
- 2018
Selected platform designs receive 2.0 updates
[1]Buffalo Boots releases updated versions of archival platform designs, including the 1348-14 and various Tower models, during a renewed 1990s-fashion cycle.
- 2018
Start of the 1990s revival releases
[1]Buffalo Boots began issuing updated versions of selected iconic 1990s platform shoes as retro fashion returned to prominence.
- 1990
Model 1310-2 becomes a signature style
[1]The 1310-2, offered with 10-centimetre and 20-centimetre platform options, becomes strongly associated with Buffalo's visual identity and the period's pop-fashion culture.
- 1990
Spice Girls association increases brand recognition
[1]The British girl group the Spice Girls helps bring Buffalo's platform shoes to a broad international audience.
- 1979
Buffalo London is founded
[3]A separate reference identifies Buffalo London as a German footwear brand founded in 1979, known for iconic platform shoes and combat boots.
Buffalo platform footwear rises in European fashion
[1]Buffalo's highly elevated platform shoes gain visibility as platform footwear becomes especially popular in Europe.
Rise of the 1310-2 platform shoe
[1]Buffalo's 1310-2 became a defining platform style during the brand's period of heightened recognition in the 1990s and early 2000s, with versions featuring approximately 10-centimetre and 20-centimetre platforms.
Products and positioning
A fashion-led footwear and accessories brand associated with dramatic platform construction, youth culture, pop-fashion visibility, and the revival of 1990s styling.
Platform footwear
1310-2
Buffalo's documented signature platform model from the brand's best-known 1990s period. The style was produced with a 10-centimetre platform and also offered in a 20-centimetre version. Its prominent construction and association with the Spice Girls made it one of the brand's most recognizable designs. The 1310-2 is Buffalo's best-known platform shoe. Its highly elevated sole made it a prominent example of the brand's exaggerated footwear design, with a version around 10 centimetres high and another reaching approximately 20 centimetres. The model became especially recognizable through its association with the Spice Girls and the broader European platform trend of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Platform footwear · 2018
1348-14
An archival Buffalo platform design included among the styles updated during the brand's 2018-2022 revival program. The 2.0 treatment connected the model with renewed interest in 1990s fashion and Buffalo's established platform-shoe identity. The 1348-14 is one of the Buffalo platform designs selected for a later 2.0 update. Its inclusion in the revival program reflects the brand's strategy of reintroducing recognizable 1990s-inspired silhouettes for consumers interested in retro fashion and statement footwear.
Platform footwear · 2018
Tower models
A group of Buffalo platform styles characterized by the brand's tall, visually emphatic silhouette. Various Tower models were among the designs revisited in updated form during the 2018-2022 1990s-fashion revival. Buffalo's Tower models are a group of strongly elevated platform styles included among the brand's updated offerings during the late-2010s and early-2020s 1990s revival. They extend the label's characteristic emphasis on height and visual impact across contemporary versions of its platform footwear.
Footwear
Buffalo footwear assortment
Buffalo's broader footwear range has included women's shoes, men's dress shoes, western and biker boots, skate shoes, high heels, pumps, sandals, over-the-knee boots, and flip-flops. The assortment demonstrates that the brand's offer extends beyond its best-known platform styles.
Fashion apparel and accessories
Buffalo apparel and accessories
In addition to footwear, Buffalo has offered shirts, jackets, trousers, skirts, hosiery, swimsuits, undergarments, and small baggage. These categories support the brand's positioning as a broader fashion label rather than a footwear-only specialist.
Footwear
Boots and seasonal footwear
Beyond its iconic platforms, Buffalo's footwear range includes western and biker boots, over-the-knee boots, men's dress shoes, skate shoes, high heels, pumps, sandals, flip-flops, and other women's and men's styles. This assortment supports the brand's broader positioning as a fashion footwear label.
Footwear
Combat boots
Combat boots are identified alongside platform shoes as a signature category of Buffalo London, popular in the 1990s and 2000s and revived in recent years.
Controversies
2020
ParkerVision files patent complaints against Zyxel and Buffalo
ParkerVision announced that it filed patent infringement complaints against Zyxel Communications Corporation and Buffalo Corporation in the Western District of Texas. The complaints seek a jury trial that would determine, among other matters, financial damages for alleged unauthorized use of its patented technologies.
Marketing campaigns
- 20181990s platform revival
Europe · United States
Buffalo Boots used the renewed popularity of 1990s fashion to reintroduce updated versions of selected archival platform designs, including the 1348-14 and various Tower models, refreshing Buffalo's historic platform identity for a later fashion cycle.
Outcome. The initiative refreshed Buffalo's historic platform identity for a later fashion cycle.
- 1990Spice Girls platform-shoe association
United Kingdom · Europe · International
Buffalo's 1310-2 platform shoes became prominently associated with the Spice Girls. This pop-culture exposure increased recognition of the brand and its exaggerated platform aesthetic, helping make Buffalo one of the recognizable platform-footwear names of the period.
Outcome. The association helped make Buffalo one of the recognizable platform-footwear names of the period.
Brand decisions
2018
Release of 2.0 versions of selected platform shoesGeneration changeBackground
A renewed interest in 1990s fashion created an opportunity to revisit Buffalo's historically significant platform designs.
Action taken
Buffalo Boots released updated versions of selected iconic models, including the 1348-14 and various Tower styles.
Aftermath
The product updates extended the life of Buffalo's platform-shoe design language into the late 2010s and early 2020s.
2018
2.0 update of iconic platform footwearGeneration changeBackground
The renewed popularity of 1990s fashion created an opportunity to reintroduce Buffalo's recognizable platform aesthetic to a new market.
Action taken
Buffalo Boots released updated 2.0 versions of selected archival platform shoes, including the 1348-14 and several Tower models.
Aftermath
The releases kept the brand's 1990s platform identity visible during the broader retro-fashion cycle. The available source does not report sales or other financial results.
Recent events
ParkerVision files patent complaints against Zyxel and Buffalo[4]
Reported:
ParkerVision announced that it filed patent infringement complaints against Zyxel Communications Corporation and Buffalo Corporation in the Western District of Texas, seeking a jury trial that would determine, among other matters, financial damages for alleged unauthorized use of its patented technologies.
Gray Line of Niagara Falls/Buffalo receives 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award[5]
Reported:
Gray Line of Niagara Falls/Buffalo was awarded Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for 2020.
Sources5 sources
- 1Buffalo (footwear)en.wikipedia.org
- 2Buffalo Boots official websitebuffalo-boots.com
- 3Buffalo London official websitebuffalo-london.com
- 4ParkerVision files patent complaints against Zyxel and Buffalofinanznachrichten.de
- 5Gray Line of Niagara Falls/Buffalo receives 2020 Travelers’ Choice Awardniagarafallsreporter.com
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