Camper History

ORIGINSBack

Visionaries and pioneers

Visionaries and pioneers. A family business with a rich heritage, born from a dream to change things, learn something new and share it. One man’s passion and commitment has provided the basis for today’s success story. This is where Camper comes from.

Camper is the living history of a family business from a great family of innovators, who for more than a century and involving four generations have dedicated themselves to the footwear industry. Camper was born in 1975. In order to fully understand the very core of Camper, its values and commitment, one has to go back more than 120 years.

In 1877, Antonio Fluxà, a skilled cobbler, set sail for England to investigate new methods of industrial manufacturing. Upon his return, he gathered together the best leather craftsmen in Inca (Mallorca) and introduced them to the first machines used to manufacture shoes. An impressive symbol of enlightenment! An innovative spirit transmitted down the line to future generations, a revolutionary resolve, a deep respect for their profession, for quality products, and above all function.

His son Lorenzo Fluxà was born in a shoe factory. He inherited from his father both his taste and his enthusiasm for this simple object, always in pairs, that keeps us connected to the ground. He continued with his father’s tradition of indulgence when it comes to quality while using innovative industrial manufacturing.

The historical and social changes experienced in Spain in the mid 1970’s were reflected in a new attitude to life. New styles, new concepts, a new spirit of adventure flourished. The solid support of a century old tradition, allowed Lorenzo Fluxà, Antonio’s grandson, to create Camper in 1975. Camper was born to be a brand: its concept was to reflect a new lifestyle, a new way of thinking based on freedom but also encompassing comfort and creativity.

In 1981, the first Camper store debuted in Barcelona. A concept that revolutionised the world of footwear retailing, incorporating a bold graphic element and a ground-breaking functional display of sizes. In 1992, international expansion began. Branches were opened in the major fashion capitals of Europe: London, Paris and Milan. Today Camper is the senior company in this sector in Spain, having maintained a healthy growth without interruption over the course of four generations!

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GRAPHIC HISTORYBack

Design: a unique blend of ethics and aesthetics

Design: a unique blend of ethics and aesthetics. Camper’s graphic history gives a powerful form to the brand’s origins and philosophy, because design is the representation of one’s identity. A rich identity rooted in the Mediterranean, in strong and durable values, in a melting pot of cultures and creative inspiration.

Communication has been one of the fundamental pillars at Camper, since the outset. Not solely for sales purposes but rather a sincere communication of a message; communication that has evolved with irony and reflection.

In 1975, having opted for Camper ("peasant" in Catalan), as the new name for his brand, Lorenzo Fluxà, along with Carlos Rolando and Joaquin Lorente – Camper’s first "conspirators" – began to think about how to consolidate this name and how to transmit all the ideas that the name suggested to them! This is how the original logo – black type – and advertising campaign were conceived, as well as the collateral materials which accompanied Camper products at their debut in multi brand stores.

In 1981, coinciding with the opening of the first store in Barcelona, the Camper logo was rethought. This was a necessary modification as it was the first time the logo would be used at the entrance to a store, and therefore needed to be enhanced. This is when the now familiar red was introduced to the Camper logo, and the lettering changed to white. This was to be the real beginning of the graphic history of the brand. The opening of the store meant that the brand was obliged to develop all kinds of graphic materials not previously necessary. Materials that reflected the brand’s true philosophy and origins. Bags, boxes, posters, displays, advertisements, catalogues… all now an elementary part of the brand’s offer and indeed reputation.

Taking a tour of Camper’s graphic history form the 1980’s through to the 1990’s is to take a journey through the brand’s history, growth and expansion internationally. It is also a trip through a history illustrated via irony, humour and above all imagination.

In the year 2000 with the start of the new millennium, Camper decided to transmit a new approach to communication. Previously solely about the product, now brand image was to be the new voice! There were two reasons for this. Camper was already a brand known to the consumer, who would automatically associate with the product: however, Camper was now seeking to enhance the culture of the brand and therefore the product by cultivating this new message. The “new” message was actually a very old one, the Mediterranean, Camper’s origins and roots. The evolution of culture brought the web into the picture, while the dynamism of the company created the magalog – magazine/catalogue – travelogue – short film – etc..
Throughout the years Camper has been extremely careful with the graphic presentation of concepts. Always executed with a very open mind, this has allowed more than forty artists and designers to contribute and participate in these many projects.


1998 The NATIONAL DESIGN AWARD

In 1998, Camper was awarded the Spanish National Design Award. This is an award given annually by the BCD (Barcelona Centro Diseño – Barcelona Design Centre). This prestigious award is the highest accolade that can be given to Companies and professionals for their outstanding contribution to the world of design. The prize is awarded annually by the Ministry of Industry and Energy and by the Fundación BCD at a ceremony attended by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I. The award is given in recognition of the company’s professional path, not for one specific design. It is the acknowledgement of an organisation, the attitude it exudes and work ethic it evokes, that has allowed the recipient to achieve results over time.

Design means three things to Camper.

The desire to integrate aesthetics and function into our products. Ethics and Aesthetics; imagining better solutions, incorporating technology that is readily available, to make products more useful, and more responsible, so they can add to people’s health and general quality of life.
For Camper a designer object is not a frivolous or useless thing. Our society often celebrates “designer objects” that with the ideal of daily use only present, after a short time, an incapacity for serving their primary function. Camper shoes have always been defined by their comfort, their technology, their respect for tradition, their function and their imaginative design.

Design implies identity. Imagination, creativity and ideas do not come from nowhere! We are born and we live in a specific cultural environment. As a consequence, design is clearly influenced by history, culture, circumstance and the landscape that surrounds us.

The Identity of Camper is the Mediterranean. The true crossroads of many cultures depicted by many contradictions and qualities alike, modernity and rural, creativity and austerity, tradition, respect, discretion and simplicity.

Design is an efficient tool for advancing in a global market that is constantly evolving and therefore growing ever more competitive. Design is added value. Design does not solve all a company’s problems, but it does contribute to what we could call a cultural and human approach to business. For Camper this award not only endorsed our efforts but it was encouragement, indeed recognition to continue walking through the world with imagination, offering diversity to a diverse public.

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CAMPER PRODUCTSBack

Camper is a way of walking

Camper is a way of walking. Product collections which express a philosophy of life and a shoe-making tradition. An array of choices, because creativity has no boundaries. Comfort with imagination, to take you where you need to go and bring a touch of uniqueness along. A rich family tree with long lasting roots.

Camper is not a specific shoe, but rather a style, a philosophy of life, a way of thinking and a way of making shoes. Camper is a way walking! Camper shoes cannot be truly understood without understanding our origins and traditions. Camper was born in the Mediterranean. A unique part of the world known for the integration of cultures and therefore diversity. It is also famous for the established tradition of shoemaking. Started back in 1877, a tradition that has always combined both design and function at its core.

So Camper is twofold and contradictory – diversity/coherence (the origins) and design/function (the traditions), existing side by side in the spirit of the brand, transmitted through the products. The shoes are, as a consequence, the link between the origins and traditions, and the urban reality of the market place. They – the shoes - evoke the solid values of the Mediterranean rural world – comfort, durability and simplicity. Incorporated into the urban world they illustrate this through informal sophistication, careful design, irony and above all imagination. The shoes blend comfort with imagination, tradition with modernity, technology with aesthetics.

Camper offers a variety of products, the direct result of a commitment to creativity. The shoes are comfortable, casual, useful, functional and versatile. Camper makes shoes for walking, but at the same time, Camper makes shoes for imagining, for innovation and fun, with a clear Mediterranean flavour, as creative and individual as human beings.
Camper believes that there are many ways of walking (comfortably) as there are many different people. This is why Camper will never be known as "one" shoe or "one" style.

Camper products can be grouped together by "concepts". Some evolve in a more subtle way than others – Camaleón, Pelotas, TWS, Brothers, Industrial, Wabi. Others change more frequently and more radically, setting trends in the style arena. This diversity illustrated throughout the product range, is Camper’s way of realising freedom, of respecting personal identity. Camper shoes are not a rigid idea to which one must adopt to wear them, but rather a wide range in which one can select a shoe that is the most comfortable…the one that makes you feel like you!

Last but by no means least, the other outstanding innate characteristic of Camper shoes is their quality. Only the world’s best, natural, water resistant and sturdy leathers can make quality and lightness compatible. Moulds that adapt to the bone structure and natural movements of the foot, together with soles created with exclusive innovative designs that embody our unique way of contact with the earth. Products that make the best craftsmanship compatible with modern methods of manufacture, products made with technology that is respectful and appropriate to the environment. Comfort for our feet and for our conscience. Shoes that care for the physical health of their wearer, as well as stimulating their imagination.

Camper Family Tree – Historical Concepts

The first model sold by Camper back in 1975 was the Camaleón . This concept pioneered the “casual” approach in Spain, which led to a fevered rush of creativity that eventually consolidated the brand. In 1981, Runner, the first “before & after” sport shoe was created. An urban shoe par excellence, it combined urban aesthetics with the comfort of a functional sports shoe. A year later, Old Bachelor revolutionised the classic "shoe with laces" by giving it a rubber sole. In the middle of the 1980’s the most modern youths chose the Palmera/Spiral – 1983 and the urbanites chose the "warlike" uniform of Kenboot – 1984. 1988 saw the birth of TWS, with their asymmetric, yet complementary pairing, a truly unique concept. Two years later Industrial made its debut; it has shell manufacturing which was a forerunner to today’s trends. 1992 saw the inauguration of Brothers, versatile, loyal and multicultural, they challenged Europe as this was the year Camper moved across the boarders of Spain into he rest of the continent. Terra was next in 1993, a rural shoe illustrating the origins of Camper once again. The polar opposite was next with the introduction of Mix, a futuristic design; a hybrid shoe depicting urban living completely. This very same year in walked our retro hero – Pelotas.

Camaleón – born many years ago around 1928, the Camaleón was a practical shoe made with hard work in mind. Crafted from worn out tyre treads and canvas from the tyres themselves, Mallorcans stitched these by hand with hemp thread cut to size, they wrapped them in old newspaper for delivery! By the 30’s the tyre canvas was replaced with carriage canvas, more solid yet not as hard. Then in 1931 another modification – leather tips for the toes and heels were added and the first Camaleón that we know today was born! Camper reinvented this shoe in 1975, naming it "Camaleón". A rural shoe for an urban consumer. Still reflecting the functional and simple spirit, typical of its roots in Mallorca. It is the first shoe sold by Camper, and now constitutes a standard of the Camper style and philosophy:- rural, simple, ironic, practical, comfortable, recycled and urban! The wisdom of generations of country folk married with craftsmanship resulting in an extraordinary legacy. But with this unique shoe Camper recovered not only a shoe steeped in practical tradition, Camper also recovered a way of understanding life, of relating to the countryside, of respecting the environment: the Camaleón is also an ecologically sympathetic shoe. That is, it is designed, developed and manufactured with the least damage possible to the environment. For Camper, this resulted in major acknowledgement by the European Union, having being awarded in 2000 with an Ecolabel, the first company in the footwear sector to be given such an award.

Wabi – the Japanese word comes form the verb “Wabiru” which means “to ask for forgiveness”. Camper interpreted it to mean: simple, modest, unpretentious and without artifice. With this as inspiration, and reflecting on the fact that for most of our urban lives our time is spent inside, wearing shoes meant for outside – Camper created Wabi, a shoe exclusively for inside! Wabi is a natural shoe, practical and designed to be used in interior spaces, - the home, the office the kitchen – it is a shoe developed for simplicity, a modest lifestyle. Wabi is the result of the application of common sense, creating a functional shoe but with respect for the environment. A shoe that is 100% anatomical and ergonomic. Camper has reduced the production process down to four industrial steps; it is manufactured with a minimal number of components, this also results in a product that is much easier to recycle. Wabi is an idea with a great deal of health, design and ecology. Camper solves a problem with this ecological design, but in such a way that human order is in harmony with the natural order. In this case a harmony comes in the form of "shoe + insole + sock" offering different combinations to function whatever the time of year or indeed the temperature. Camper comes form a rural world yet designs for urban people. The Wabi concept is the clearest way to see this in reality, at the same time it emphasises the contradiction between the two geographies – rural and urban – which is a fundamental of Camper philosophy.

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COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNSBack

A journey through dialogue

A journey through dialogue. An innovative approach to advertising which brings to life the core values of the brand. Different tools for the different stages of the journey. But with an independent point of view.

The Walking Society
When launching the new campaign for Spring/Summer 2001, Camper wanted to establish a new way of communicating that would reflect the true spirit of the company, that could add culture to products while humanising the message. Thus, The Walking Society (TWS) was born.
TWS is a cultural declaration. Camper expresses that it is not simply a shoe or a lifestyle but that Camper is a way of thinking. In the culture of the 21st Century. An attempt to find an alternative between two paths, either philosophical or material, between two worlds, developed and developing, between two geographies, rural and urban! Camper recreates this contradiction with “Walk, don’t run” a link between the rural world – the origins – and the urban reality - the market. TWS is a way of expressing this. The next step was to illustrate this contradiction with words, images, illustrations and characters that mirror this unique Camper spirit.

This is how the "The Med is the Net" began. Camper sees the Mediterranean Sea as a cultural network of both people and places, with this idea of the Mediterranean as the main character of communication. Each campaign travels through a different location, with specific people and their customs. Camper offers one a journey through contradiction and reflection …a journey in which people stop being tourists and become part of a particular reality.

All in all, TWS represents a virtual society, people who share this Mediterranean spirit but originate from different cultural, social, economic or geographical realities. Those who dedicate their efforts and imagination – either as individuals or collectively – to contributing useful, positive ideas and solutions to improve our world.


Imagination Walks
Inside every Camper box there is a story. Because a Camper box is not like any other box. Inside a Camper box lives everything you can imagine outside. A Camper box is a window, a door, it’s the beginning of a journey.
A journey to a place called Imagination. Yes, a Camper box also comes with a pair of Camper shoes. They will join you in your journey. It’s them and you, together. And then, it happens: IMAGINATION WALKS.

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CAMPER
STORESBack

Where it all comes together

Where it all comes together. Since the beginning, each new idea breaks with conventional shopping environment. Self-service in 1981. Temporary stores in 2000. Collaborations with innovative artists and architects all along. And Re-Camper stores transmitting the same value-rich shopping experience.

In 1981, the first Camper store opened in Barcelona. After seven years of successfully marketing products through multi brand stores, Camper realised that such shoes needed an alternative, dedicated setting that would allow customers to interact with the shoes and the brand. Here began the development of unique stores.

The concept was self-service. A shoe store that showed all the styles and sizes available. The new Camper store was revolutionary but also a conceptual showcase for a new graphic experience; boxes, posters, bags with messages, and displaying the shoes in this new way confirmed the brand was able to enter into dialogue with customers --and the customer understood. The stores became a window for Camper, through which to look out and to be looked at. The world saw Camper’s shoes and philosophy but it also gave Camper the opportunity to see what was happening on the other side of the glass!

International expansion began in the early 1990’s. For many brands their stores were the same regardless of the country and although really well thought out the result was uninspiring. At Camper the concept of identity and diversity always go hand in hand, So the strategic decision was that every store should be different.

Walk in Progress

The “Walk in Progress” concept was born in 2000. The concept was the brainchild of Camper and Catalan designer Martí Guixé.
Camper wanted to continue with international store openings, but faced the problem of acquiring store space quickly, then trading as soon as possible to pay for the investment! Out of necessity, to fulfil the company philosophy, the temporary Walk in Progress concept was born. The idea is simple: to make a temporary, provisional interactive design, with furniture made from recycled materials, allowing the store to open and trade before the definitive design and decoration are complete. With this idea as the objective, execution is simple, quick and inexpensive. The store is decorated with a central table made from shoe boxes, for displaying the shoes. The walls are painted white with a “imagine a better world” title to invite the customers to write and draw their messages, ideas, dreams, impressions etc., emphasising the interactive nature of the Walk in progress concept. The store is always self explanatory.

Many Camper “Walk in Progress” stores have been inaugurated. The first was in Milan, via Montenapoleone 6, in March 2000., Since then many have followed across the world including, Rome, Piazza di Spagna 72, Paris, 14-16 Rue Faubourg St. Honore, Hong Kong, 2-4 Kingston Street, Berlin, Neue Schoenhauser str. 11 – and San Francisco, 39 Grant Avenue, then London at 209 Oxford Street. The Walk in Progress store concept is both practical and fun as it allows full interaction between the customer and the brand.

Camper Together stores
Throughout its history Camper’s personality and in particular the one reflected in its stores, has been enriched with the contributions of designers, architects and artists. Carlos Rolando, Javier Mariscal, Neville Brody, Óscar Mariné, Peret or the Memphis group, among many others, aside from characters like Fernando Amat, Oleguer Armengol, Jordi Nogués, Shiro Miura or Marti Guixé, have contributed in making these spaces always different and always special, becoming, together, an important active of the brand because they transmit the true values and image to the client.

It now gains more strength than ever with these new projects, in limited edition, like this one developed “together” with Jaime Hayon, Alfredo Häberli, the Campana Brothers, Konstantin Grcic, Bernhard Willhelm and the Bouroullec Brothers.

Camper continues innovating and opts for new languages that communicate the essence of a brand that is always loyal to its original spirit.

Together: together, with, +, &, responds to today’s global reality. It is the ability to integrate different knowledge and cultures into one project, and an organization capable of ensuring international development.

Re-Camper
Camper decided to develop a new channel to complete the lifecycle of those products which for a number of reasons could not be introduced into the normal sales channels –products with minor imperfections, or stock left from past seasons, prototypes, press collections etc., As these were in perfect condition for use, the “best possible destination” was sought for these shoes, and among the various possibilities, Camper decided to sell them at a reduced price in Re-Camper Shops (outlets).

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CAMPER INTERNATIONALBack

To share a dream with the world

From Spain with a mission. To share a dream with the world. Since 1992 to today, a journey over 70 countries worldwide counting more than 150 Camper stores. And many loyal partners.

In the very early 1990’s, following 15 years of marketing their designs in Spain, Camper felt strong enough at home to look beyond Spain’s borders. The 1992 Olympics brought about a radical change in the perception that the world had held of Spain and Spanish goods. Camper took advantage of this new development and launched onto the European market. They approached the most difficult markets simultaneously – London, Paris and Milan – cities where some of the most influential trendsetters and opinion formers live.

Following on from the success of the European expansion, in 2002 Camper looked across the Atlantic and began to distribute in the United States. The first American store opened in Soho New York, and a year later San Francisco followed. The Camper concept and product soon attracted the attention of the critics of the footwear sector. It was the Japanese, both resident and visitors of these cities, who noticed that the Camper concept and the core qualities of simplicity, comfort, sincerity and style, held a natural affinity with their country – Japan. Through them, Camper made the necessary contacts to bring their footwear to the Asian Markets in 1996. The best stores in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan began to exhibit Camper shoes.

The expansion continued and in March 2002, the first Camper store in Sydney opened. Today, 17 years after Camper’s first steps abroad, there are more than 200 Camper stores in over 30 countries, while the brand is distributed in 70 different countries.

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SOCIAL PROJECTSBack

A little better, never perfect!

Sustainability is key. It is our way of contributing to social and environmental development. A commitment to contribute. A little better, never perfect!

Camper began a study of waste management at their head office in Inca – Mallorca – in 1998. This was within the context of an Environmental Management System that was being implemented within the company.

Sustainable development also includes social commitment, and this has given rise to the Edible Gardens project. School gardens were the focus of a social and environmental project where Camper sought to educate children whose main ecosystems were cities. The project intended to teach these children how to preserve and respect nature through the production and maintenance of an edible garden. Camper manufactures a “rural” product for “urban” use; the edible gardens concept fits perfectly with Camper’s philosophy and spirit, uniting an agricultural tradition with an innovative project (environmental education) within a totally urban setting.

This project is a collaboration with Diseños Sostenibles. Camper selects public schools in urban areas which preferably have some type of integration project. Once the school is selected the programme - aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 7 – brings together the creation of a school garden and an environmental education program. During the school year, the children learn different types of planting, how to transplant small plants, care for them, and harvest them. They then use the fruits yielded for dyes, jams, teas and infusions for medical purposes. The program also includes the correct use of water and the correct management of household waste, as well as workshops on botany and renewable energy. Once the school year is over, the school then commits itself to maintaining the garden project with the support of Camper.

Camper began this project of edible gardens initially in Madrid at Colegio La Jara in the spring of 1999 followed by Colegio Público La Paloma again in Madrid, Colegio Publico Ponent in Inca and then outside Spain in Bethnal Green Primary school in the East End of London, and Casa Dei Bimbi in Rome. The latest edible garden project was set up in Barcelona at Colegio Publico El Bosc in 2002.

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