Peu Form, the new footwear collaboration between Camper and ISSEY MIYAKE, recently launched at Glamcult Store. If you didn’t catch the in-store moment, here’s a glimpse into the atmosphere, plus a deeper look at the philosophy behind the shoe.
There’s no such thing as a simple shoe, not when it comes wrapped in the philosophies of two design minds as quietly radical as Achilles Ion Gabriel and Satoshi Kondo. Peu Form, the new footwear collaboration between Camper and ISSEY MIYAKE that recently launched at Glamcult Store, might look minimal at first glance, but it’s giving full-body experience, cleverly disguised as a slipper.
The pairing makes perfect sense: both brands have long embraced soft-spoken subversion — ISSEY MIYAKE through architecture and movement, Camper through function-first, form-willing design. So what happens when two minds obsessed with material honesty and bodily intimacy meet? Apparently, something deceptively simple. But don’t mistake that for plain. Here, simple means refined, not reduced.
Achilles Ion Gabriel brings a postmodern playfulness to Camper. His shoes may be sculptural, but his Instagram is pure sweaty chaos: subtitled post-run selfies and kinetic charm. Satoshi Kondo is the stillness to Gabriel’s sprint. Raised by a dressmaking teacher, he’s spent 10 years at ISSEY MIYAKE company and 8 years at MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO shaping its future through pleats, space, and storytelling. Rooted in the Japanese concept of Ma, his work reveres the space between body and cloth, the presence of absence.
Scroll down for our conversation with the designers and step further into the world behind Peu Form.
When you look at your shoe design, what parts of yourself do you recognise in them?
AIG: There’s a shared spirit between Finland and Japan. We both appreciate simplicity, not minimal for the sake of aesthetic, but as a way of thinking. No excess. I don’t care for unnecessary rules or hierarchy. I care about purpose, about creating something functional and smart. That experimental, no-boundaries mindset is at the core of both my own work and Camper’s DNA.
KONDO: In Japanese culture, there is the idea of making full use of materials. At ISSEY MIYAKE’s women’s line, we create an aesthetic through draping a single, complete piece of cloth around the human body to explore the unfilled space (ma) formed in between. The design of Peu Form follows this approach: a new form shaped by wrapping one piece of leather around the foot and over the sole. Simple, subtle, and primitive.
There’s a real luxury in the way the shoe wraps the foot. What feeling were you hoping to create when someone puts it on?
KONDO: As the design of Peu Form is inspired by the concept of a piece of cloth. By practicing this concept the clothing we create brings a sense of ease in wearing. I hope that Peu Form, being an iteration of the same concept, can convey qualities of ease.
Minimalism can mean a lot of things for different people. What does it mean to you?
AIG: To me, minimalism is about simplicity and innovation. I’ve always admired Japan for that. It’s not about stripping everything down, it’s about removing what isn’t necessary so the craft and function can shine. There’s a sense of purity in that.
KONDO:I agree with Achilles. And just to add that in Japanese design the idea of “minimalistic” is not just an aesthetic, as it is rooted in the culture and founded upon the approach of subtracting elements rather than adding them. To me, minimalism is also related to the idea of refinement and the way of contemplating what is essential.
What’s a small detail or feeling in the shoe that people might miss, but that you think is essential?
KONDO: Behind its minimalist look—as well as the fine balance between intention and serendipity—its fluid and seemingly unstructured form is made by skilled craftspeople. Due to this hand-crafted nature, each pair of Peu Form is unique, with nuances found in texture and detail, which will develop a character of its own over time.
Images by Esmeralda Engels
Words by Pykel van Latum
