Where do you look for new ideas or voices in fashion?
I don’t necessarily look within fashion when I’m getting inspired; it’s more about what I experience on my travels. I am from Finland, and I lived in Paris 10 years before moving to Mallorca, so I feel like I’m a bit of all those three cultures at the same time. I’m also a big book collector, for instance, and I am really interested in politics; that’s the only thing I watch on TV. My normal state of mind is inspired, there are too many ideas, so I don’t need to look for them.
In which ways might fashion creativity effectively drive growth?
I think creativity must always be linked to functionality; that’s why I am so glad I studied shoe design because it’s not only in my imagination. I know how to build a shoe that’s functional and comfortable and will last for more than a season. At the end of the day, I’m responsible for two brands, Camper and Camperlab. Camper has 50 years in the business and Camperlab is growing quite fast since I joined, and we want it to become a powerful force within the fashion industry. And you can only do that when you are putting products out there that are not only very creative, but that also cover a need of the consumer.
How essential is heritage and/or a distinctive identity in contributing to a brand’s success?
I say quite often that I am the guardian of the DNA at Camper and the heritage. I think otherwise, from a creative perspective, it can get out of hand. It doesn’t mean that I’m keeping things the same, because part of Camper’s DNA is quite progressive. I’m trying to protect the DNA, but it is always evolving.
What surprises you about the industry in 2025?
I’ve been around for a while, so not many things surprise me. I wish people weren’t so afraid to be themselves and speak their mind.
Who or what is generating the greatest influence in fashion today?
Probably artificial intelligence.
How do you think your brand can spark and sustain desire with so much else going on in the world?
I believe the brand must be honest and remain true to its values — for us to put out there products that are disruptive from a design point of view, but also maintain our quality and sustainability standards. I don’t really check trends or “competition,” because I don’t feel like there is any.
There seems to be more overlap between fashion/entertainment and fashion/sports than ever. Thoughts?
I feel like it makes sense. We get a lot of traction from sports talents, from NBA to football players. We even have a collaboration with the football team Real Club Deportivo Mallorca that started this year and will continue next year, and we did a project earlier this year with our iconic model Traktori that involved talents from cinema, music, art. Both entertainment and sports have massive fan communities around them, so of course fashion brands want to leverage on that. Same happens with entertainment, I think the goal is to collaborate in a way that feels true to the brand, which is what we are trying to do at Camperlab.
This interview has been lightly edited.
