Achilles Ion Gabriel to step down as Camper’s creative director

Camper announces the departure of its creative director, Achilles Ion Gabriel. The designer, who has been with the Mallorcan company since 2019, will step down from the creative helm of both the main brand and its more experimental line, CamperLab. As the Balearic footwear company reported on Tuesday, the last collections developed under his leadership will be for spring/ summer 2027 and will be presented at the beginning of next December.

“Achilles has played a key role in strengthening Camper’s contemporary identity and in the evolution of CamperLab, which has gone from being a footwear brand to a fashion brand,” said Miguel Fluxà, CEO of Camper. “His vision and leadership have contributed significantly to the evolution of both brands. We are grateful for his contribution and proud of what we have achieved together, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” the executive added.

The company said that, following the designer’s departure, the in-house team will assume the creative direction of the two labels, “ensuring the continued development of both brands going forward.”

“I am deeply grateful to Camper and CamperLab for the trust they have placed in me over the years. I would also like to thank our customers and consumers for their loyalty,” said Achilles Ion Gabriel. The Finnish-born designer assumed the role of creative director at CamperLab in 2019 with the mission of transforming a footwear-focused brand into a fashion label with a full catalogue; a year later, he also took on the same position at the flagship brand, Camper.

Founded in 1975 by the Fluxà family on the Balearic island of Mallorca, Camper is now a global footwear company. It operates a commercial network of around 350 of its own stores and is present in more than 2,500 multi-brand points of sale across around 50 markets. According to its latest available financial data, in the 2023 financial year it achieved a turnover of 225 million euros.

Over the past five years, the company has focused on elevating its positioning, mainly through its CamperLab line, which debuted at Paris Men’s Fashion Week last June. It was in 2024 that the label moved into ready-to-wear, and in 2025, in addition to opening a store in Paris and opening a pop-up in London, it unveiled its new brand identity.

As for the main brand, last summer Camper presented a capsule with Issey Miyake and opened the first store designed by then creative director Achilles Ion Gabriel on Madrid’s Calle Serrano.