Concepts and Ideas for Commercial Purposes

Archive 1997–2017: Exhibition | Interior | Project | Product

Camper Health and Science Fiction | 28 Old Bond Street, London | 1998

This was the first store I designed for Camper. After proposing ideas to them for more than a year, the opportunity arose to create a sales space for Camper shoes that would be a little bit different, and that wouldn’t follow any local or international trends. | The space was tiny, but with a large window opening onto one of the best enclaves in London. I worked with shoes displayed attached with and to a Velcro strip, an irreverent and visually striking design. The shoes position was not fixed and they could be replaced on the Velcro after they were tried on. The chairs were orthopaedic exercise balls and there was also a low triangular mirror (Double View Test Machine) that allowed you to compare your old pair of shoes, on the one side, with your potential new pair of shoes, on the other. “Camper” was chiselled with a diamond, graffiti-style and as a performance piece, on the shop’s windows. For the shop opening, a protocol and catering were designed that included some of my culinary designs, such as SPAMT and Sponsored Food, as well as tastings of olive oil and traditional products from the island of Mallorca. The instructions for the event were sent by fax. The catering table was made of empty shoeboxes, a construction technique that was later used for the Temporary Shop stores. A book was made about the design process, from its construction through performance (the Velcro, the graffiti) referencing the city of London with texts, drawings and plans. The title “GUIXE 4th 2” refers to the text written on the paper that they gave me in the hotel, indicating the floor and room number where I would be staying. This book remains unpublished since 1998. | The book “GUIXE 4th 2” and details of the catering and the shop are referenced in the book Don’t Buy it if You Don’t Need it: “All Martí Guixé’s Camper Commodityscapes”, published in 2007. Photo Inga Knölke 1998