Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2015	Nov. 27, 2015
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	GENESCO INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000018498
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2015
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		22,090,544