Inside CamperLab’s First Store in Paris’ Marais
Katie Abel
Executive Editor
For Achilles Ion Gabriel, walking into CamperLab’s new store in Paris‘ Marais feels like coming home.
The Finnish designer, who became creative director of CamperLab in 2019 and took the reins of the entire Camper brand a year later, recalled that his first office in Paris, early in his career, was just steps away from the new store on Rue Debelleyme.
“The location is super special for me,” he said Monday during a preview ahead of an evening launch event during Paris Fashion Week.
Ion Gabriel has been developing CamperLab — a younger, more experimental range by the Spanish label — with an expanded collection of genderless footwear and a new ready-to wear push. Accessories are also a growing category, and for spring 2025, the brand launched sunglasses.
The boutique, located in the former Camper store space, was designed by Harry Nuriev, founder and creative director of Crosby Studios. The architect took a sleek raw concept and added unique industrial touches.
“Harry knows that I love not perfect things, so that’s why we have broken walls,” Ion Gabriel said. “I wanted to have the product on display, but I didn’t want it to scream. I wanted it to be a little hidden.”
The designer has evolved the shoe collection during the past five years, and among the key styles on display in the store are the brand’s futuristic sneakers, which feature textured panels that swirl around a breathable mesh design with contrast edges on the laces.
Elsewhere in the collection, Ion Gabriel took inspiration from a traditional wooden clog for new loafer, sandal and sneaker designs. “I like to morph a lot of different things. It doesn’t have to be so literal,” said the designer, who launched a namesake collection last year at Pitti Uomo.
In tandem with the store opening, CamperLab debuted a new stand-alone website on Monday, in collaboration with Giga Design Studio.
Looking ahead, the designer is planning a full Paris Fashion Week presentation in June, when he will reveal more of his vision for the growing ready-to-wear line.
