By Abel Montserrat, Camper Designer
My love affair with footwear design began when I met one of the suppliers of the shoe store I owned at the time. He asked me to work for him as a shoe designer. Up until that point, I had only sketched ideas for clothing as I was studying fashion design. However, with practice and effort I also learned to sketch shoes, drawing was the only way I could explain what I’d imagined and turn it into something real.
When we were working on South, our goal was to come up with a cool summer shoe as unstructured as possible in order to achieve maximum flexibility and comfort. The Kiowa construction, originated from the indigenous craftsmen of North America and Inuit people, provided us the characteristics we were looking for. This meant that we had to work with Kiowa experts, in order to achieve the best results, because this type of construction requires experienced professionals to do the stitching.
South was inspired by what we saw on the street. When beginning a new project, we always analyse what people are wearing out and about in order to create useful products. But we also take this inspiration and allowed ourselves to be guided by our intuition, our sense of smell and even our dreams. Sometimes you jump straight out of bed and start drawing and, at first, the sketch seems totally bizarre but later it ends up as something really fantastic.
We called it South because this type of shoe has its influence from the sailing world. Also, when we started out with the idea of creating this design, we wanted to use the four cardinal directions you need to navigate…this eventually led us to the name of the shoe.
When I’m designing, I draw shoes that appeal to me personally, and in the case of men’s footwear I always try to come up with something I would actually wear. I like South because of its authenticity. I think this use of traditional craftsmanship enhances the shoe´s value. It allows us to create something beautiful from the skill and knowledge that our ancestors have passed down to us. Perhaps that’s why I don’t really consider myself a designer; instead, I think of myself as a cobbler, because there are many different ways of making shoes and, knowing and understanding the various constructions, gives us real freedom when designing a shoe.
If you ask me how I’d wear these shoes, my answer would be without socks… and with trousers!!!! ;-)
By Philippe Salva, Camper PR Director
The 27th International Festival of Fashion and Photography opened on Friday 30th evening in the little city in the south of France on the French Riviera (between Toulon and St-Tropez). A vibrant event, with all the little planet of the Parisian fashion and some international also …
The place itself is amazing, a “private” house from the 1920 … not a normal house: the house of Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, who was living there in this period, welcome “young” artists, today Masters, like Man Ray, Buñuel, Dali, Cocteau …
The star this year is Mr Yohji Yamamoto, president of the Jury and the other members, will decide today Sunday 29th the winner between 10 Fashion Designers, and 10 photographers, all exhibited at the Villa Noailles. We’ll also know today the designer chosen by Camper to participate to the workshop next July in Son Fortesa, Mallorca.
Camper is partner of the Fashion Festival for the 3rd time. Together shoes and Twins Swash are sold in the little store at the Villa. Some product placement also: Villa’s staff and Fashion show (Veronique Branquinho).
On Sunday 29, the Festival “gave” a last show at the nice place “Salins des Pesquiers”, the old salt wharehouse near the beach. A last opportunity for the 10 candidates and young designers to show their work and their outfits.
At the end of the show, Jean-Pierre Blanc, director of the Festival and Villa Noailles introduced the award session, first with the members of Jury for the Photography then Fashion.
The 3 awarded in fashion seems to be a tribute to the “cold” and north design: 1st the Grand Prix L’Oréal Professionnel was given to the three girls from Finland. Siiri, Tiia and Elina gave a “vitamins” touch thanks to their multicolored neo-punk and anti-crisis men’s collection.
Ragne Kikas from Estonia show a black woman’s collection with an amazing stitching and knitting work, Estonia and Canada.
But the favorite for Camper, and the one who will have the chance to come to the workshop in Mallorca next July was the Canadian, Asiatic origins Steven Tai.
He received the Chloé award thanks to his work on comfort, pastels colors, and amazing details on volumes and folding like a cream slice
CHANTAL FOR WOMEN By Beatriz Delgado, Camper Designer.
The idea behind Chantal was to design a feminine product in line with the latest fashion trends.
Women are an important source of inspiration for me. The female essence is so rich and complex that it never fails to provide me with a springboard for my work, reflecting my personal need to express gender & sexuality. Basically, it’s always the same idea approached from different angles and given different twists each time: the desire to seduce.
Chantal? …I don’t recall exactly why I chose that name, although I do remember that I imagined them on Vanessa Chantal Paradis and liked the idea, so I took her as my point of reference for the line.
When I imagine someone wearing my shoes, I usually envision them on naked or indistinct bodies. That way, the shoes take centre stage in an almost surreal way, giving me more freedom to work on them. Then I dress up those bodies as if they were paper dolls, mixing and matching at will, which allows me to create many variations of style.
Chantal was featured at the fashion show of the Spanish label “SoloLaVerdadEsSexy” during the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week. Something along those lines, I just love it.
Achieving an end result that faithfully reflects the designer’s idea is not easy. I like Chantal because everyone who worked on it truly cared about the project, and the end result is actually an improvement on the original idea. They are also very well-made from a technical standpoint, and it pleases me to know that whoever wears these shoes will feel good in them!
You can find Chantal shoes at Camper E-shop: http://cam.pr/chantal
PAU FOR MEN By Jumpei Ushiyama, Camper Designer.
When I started working on this model, the idea was to provide smart and elegant looking mens shoes with high comfort and performance. At the time, I was thinking about young city living professionals who have very versatile lifestyles. My aim was that someone could go to the office with these shoes but then go to a party straight after work wearing them. I love the way that everything is more casual now, particularly in offices where people dress down much more.
With its elegant slim last and soft leather uppers Pau looks like a classic brogue, but it features a rubber outsole instead which gives it a casual twist. This way Pau can be worn either with a suit or smart denim. It means that you can wear it for a wedding but also for casual occasions or going out on the town. Most importantly, I hope that the shoe is really comfortable for whatever you´re doing. The name of the shoe is from Paul Newman – “Pau” is Paul in Catalan.
Pau shoes are available at Camper E-shop: http://cam.pr/paushoes
Today Camper opens a new store in Montrel which is the first in Canada. The store is located in 928 Sainte-Catherine Street, the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal.
The design of the store was made by Gaetano Pesce as part of the Camper Together Project.
Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Gaetano Pesce, an architect-artist-designer based in New York City, has undertaken diverse commissions in architecture, urban planning, interior and exhibition design, industrial design and publishing. In more than forty years of practice, Pesce has conceived public and private projects in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, from residences to gardens and corporate offices. Pesce’s extensive body of work – recognized for its emotive and tactile qualities, unrestrained use of color, and insistence upon innovative building materials developed through new technologies – has been described by prominent architecture critic Herbert Muschamp as “the architectural equivalent of a brainstorm”.
Gaetano Pesce shared with us some draws of his project for Camper, we hope you enjoy them.
If you want to know more about this incredible artist you can visit his web: www.gaetanopesce.com
The store was designed by Jurgen Bey. This is his first cooperation with Camper as part of the Together Project.
Born in Soest, the Netherlands in 1965, Jurgen Bey is one of the most renowned Dutch designers. He studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven and has since run studios independently or in collaboration with others, while teaching at the Design Academy Eindhoven in previous years, and currently, at the Royal College of Art in London. Bey’s work includes product, furniture, interior and public space design, and is produced by his studio, or by companies such as Droog, Royal Tichelaar Makkum, and Moooi. Bey is known as a critical designer, driven to understand the world and to question it in a unique manner. He has been awarded the 2005 Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds Award, the 2005 Harrie Tillie Award from Stedelijk Museum, Roermond and the Interior Award 2003 from Lensvelt/de Architect, for his meeting room for the Interpolis company.
The store hosts men’s, women’s and kids’ collections. It is located 58 Rue de la Republique, the main shopping street of the city. You can check the exact location at our store locator.
If you’re in the area we invite you to stop by and have a look!
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