Deciding that a straight-forward presentation of products couldn't fully illustrate the capabilities of its latest footwear, Camper sought other means to preview the fall/winter line to press last Wednesday. Divided into six distinct vignettes, the Spanish shoe label’s new 875-square-foot SoHo showroom became a sensory environment with a curious array of toys, carnival acts, and food—the tools to communicate specific attributes of sneakers, heels, boots, and slip-ons.
Produced and designed by Factory PR, the brand's U.S. public relations firm, the three-hour cocktail party also doubled as a showcase for the new designer collaborations in Camper's Toðer collection.
Armed with a budget of $6,000, a team of four publicists looked to rental houses, entertainment agencies, FreshDirect, and Amazon.com for materials, objects, and other elements that could convey comfort, durability, flexibility, and lightness. What they assembled, an assortment that included a nine-foot-tall inflatable chair, live clown, working dunk tank, and heads of broccoflower (the hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower), formed a colorful, somewhat carnival-like setting that tempted editors to eye, prod, and even smell the displays.
Shoes floating from helium balloons demonstrated how little one collection weighed, while sneakers suspended inside Hoberman spheres—plastic geodesic globes that expand and contract—emphasized the 360-degree stitching of another. The juxtaposition of a stunt man lying atop a bed of nails in the vignette depicting the cushion and comfort of Camper soles was, as Factory PR publicist Kevin Giss described, "more dramatic than pillows." And drag queen Erickatoure Aviance served as a tongue-in-cheek way to highlight a unisex line.
In addition to the engaging acts in the main room, a window-side table in the rear housed Camper Toðer capsules, limited-edition designer collaborations displayed with simply shaped instruments to emphasize form and function.
