The evolution of Camper and its lab: from tradition to transgression

Camper is an experimental brand that has been challenging the creative limits of the international footwear industry since 1975. We take a look at Camper‘s history through their campaigns and the highlights of their astral journey to infinity.

The revolution was sown in Mallorca. Lorenzo Fluxa -CEO of the company- based on craftsmanship and tradition, spread a magic formula that would generate as a harvest a hybrid style that connects formal and elegant shoes with sports shoes; an eternal line that defines about 500 models per season displayed in more than 400 stores established around the world.

Since Romain Kremer was the creative director of the brand, it would become one of the global references in footwear due to its concept full of art, future, and sci-fi. It would also do so for its innovative and technological designs that combine functionality with design in a balanced way. But beyond that, it has managed to create whole transgressive imagery that ranges from campaigns to collaborations: in which the brand’s DNA is fused with the identity of designers and creatives related to the world of art, fashion, industrial design, and architecture.

In 2014 Kremer decided to give a twist to the brand with the introduction of its sub-brand CAMPERLAB: the latest concept of stores that offer an exclusive experience and a special selection of products available in its LAB stores in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris and New York. Camper Lab experiments with footwear and design without leaving aside the brand’s Mediterranean roots.

In June 2019, Romain left the creative direction of the brand and Achilles Ion Gabriel was immersed in the captaincy of the Camper and CamperLab universe. Achille is one of the most relevant contemporary footwear designers of the fashion system, who since then leads the design team and defines the creative strategy of the communication of the whole brand. In June he will present the new concept of CAMPERLAB through AW20: the first collection by Achilles for the brand’s laboratory.

CAMPAIGNS | KEEPING THE FANTASY

Camper‘s advertising and editorial campaigns have been one of the most relevant corporate pillars of the international industry. The caliber of their creative discourse goes beyond the boundaries of the normative, relegating an unconventional spirit that has been defining them for decades.

Camper has also collaborated with many designers such as Maximov of Asketik to make their stores a reality. But beyond generating those spaces, his connection with creative directors like Gosha Rubchinskiy has reinforced (even more) the heritage of the house. Not to mention the proposal ‘Lost Sailor Shoe’ by the artist Coco Capitán, in which she explored her eternal relationship with the sea and navigation.

We review the history of Camper through some of its most outstanding seasons / collections, which have the collaboration of various artists from the creative scene such as Filip Custic, Kito Muñoz, Cuentos Rosales, Rossy de Palma or Virgen Maria.

THE AVATARS FROM FW17

The Fall-Winter 2017 season was the ultimate creative expression of Romain Kremer in collaboration with director Daniel Sannwald. Respecting the Sci-Fi concept of the Camper director, he launched a new film in which Rossy de Palma and five other avatars entered into a dialogue with the new Camper designs: those that presented functionality, monochrome, saturated tones and colour block in neo-shoes for the human 4.0.

EIGHTIES VIBES THROUGH SS18

One of the brand’s editorials for the Spring-Summer 18′ season caused us a blow-minding through its union of the past with the present and its concept starring a cast of geeks with different personalities that were in tune with the format of each shoe.

The aesthetics of the late 80s enveloped the halo of the campaign that reinvented footwear based on retro reminiscences, various prints and eccentric colours: one of the most representative codes of the company’s DNA.

CAMPERLAB SS18 FEAT KITO MUÑOZ

Kito Muñoz transferred all his erotic imagery to Camper Lab’s SS18 campaign, reflecting through his lens scenes of kids playing death and excitement in the same synopsis.

The sandals and sneakers in this new experimental laboratory episode were dyed metallic colors that brought the trend of ugly shoes to a higher state.

TWINS 30TH ANNIVERSARY BY FILIP CUSTIC

Camper celebrated the 30th anniversary of its legendary TWINS with a pre-collection of SS18 that paid tribute to three decades of the house’s genuineness and experimentation. Filip Custic was in charge of moving the silhouettes to one of his parallel universes where he plays with gravity, objects, and space.

The iconic Twins were born out of the need to turn reality around, through the question: why do shoes have to be identical? Thus, in 1988 Camper introduced this shoe model in which the design of the left foot is different from the right one. Since then, the great acceptance of the silhouette has led to different iterations in which one experiments with the fabric, shape and asymmetrical designs.

‘THE CAMPER HOUSE’ FOR SS19

Romain Kremer in the campaign ‘The Camper House’ focused on exploring the everyday to illustrate models such as the ‘Kash’ or ‘Nothing’ sandals for the SS19 season. Thus, this new episode transported us from one room to another, moving us through a domestic labyrinth full of designer furniture and ‘supernatural events that raised more questions than answers.

KREMER’S LAST AT FW19

FW19 became one of the most relevant collections in Camper’s history, as it was Romain Kremer’s last collection before leaving the company after 10 years. Through this proposal, he definitely left his unparalleled legacy in the firm, which ranges from the design of the future to hypnotic communication campaigns.

 

In this last journey of the creative director towards post-modernity, humans merged with machines forming a transgressive concept connected with virtual reality and artificial intelligence. In it, 8 avatars were paired with silhouettes such as the ‘Pix’, ‘Courb’ or ‘Brutus’: each representing a totally different concept bathed in bright colors and advanced technology.

CLAUDIA MATÉ MOVES HER 3D IMAGINARY TO SS20

Camper counted on the digital vision of the artist Claudia Maté to illustrate her pre-season SS20 proposal. In this story inspired by a summer camp, the innocence of youth and the connection with nature are reflected in the creepy characters of Maté’s universe. Camper’s most iconic silhouettes such as the “Pix”, “Courb” and “Nothing” were illustrated in a 3D format in a palette of orange, pink, blue, and neon shades.

CAMPER X KIKO KOSTADINOV

The latest issue of Kiko Kostadinov x Camper Together focuses on the outdoor concept by updating the archive and paying tribute to the most iconic models of the Camper heritage.

Taking workwear as a reference, the designer has channeled his industrial inspiration into the Majorcan brand for some years now, creating robust typologies with extreme volumes and exquisite loafers as he did in FW19.

In his latest release for SS20 EXCLUSIVES, the creative director took British pop culture and riding boots as his reference to materialize leather designs in fun blocks of color to close another of the brand’s surreal episodes that have represented a new generation.

LONG-LIFE TO CAMPER.