Achilles Ion Gabriel Is Serving Up a Surreal SS22 Collection for CAMPERLAB

If there’s anything we don’t need this spring, it’s another collection of boring, all-black accessories. Enter CAMPERLAB, the intrepid sub-brand of Camper, responsible for bringing playful, surrealist-inspired footwear into the mainstream. For Spring/Summer ’22, Creative Director Achilles Ion Gabriel dropped CAMPERLAB’s first entirely unisex line of shoes and accessories, a colorful collection of bold footwear for the sartorially adventurous. Standout pieces include daring hot pink and black cowboy print boots fit for pop-punk royalty, and CAMPERLAB’s classic Traktori shoe reimagined in a new, red-hot colorway. To mark the occasion, we had the award-winning Finnish designer answer Andy Warhol’s favorite questions, and dish on his love of disco-showers, day-dreaming, and huge coats.

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ANDY WARHOL: Do you dream?

ACHILLES ION GABRIEL: I dream a lot, both while sleeping and daydreaming. It is my favorite thing in the world.

WARHOL: Showers or baths?

GABRIEL: I love taking disco-showers, I put music on maximum, sing along, and dance under hot water.

WARHOL: Is there anything you regret not doing?

GABRIEL: Yes. I regret I didn’t have more lovers.

WARHOL: What was your first job?

GABRIEL: I cleaned toilets in a wood-processing factory.

WARHOL: When do you get nervous?

GABRIEL: Dealing with close-minded and/or right-wing people. 

WARHOL: Why can’t it just be magic all the time?

GABRIEL: We need rollercoasters in life to feel the ups and downs. If it was the same all the time I would jump off a roof.

WARHOL: What did you have for breakfast?

GABRIEL: Two cups of coffee and five cigarettes.

WARHOL: What are you reading right now?

GABRIEL: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

WARHOL: Where do you dance?

GABRIEL: In the shower, obviously.

WARHOL: Who’s your dream date?

GABRIEL: Joanna Lumley, Glenn Close, Christine Baranski, or Rossy de Palma.

WARHOL: What do you think about love?

GABRIEL: I love love, it’s magical ups and downs. I’m always ready for more. 

WARHOL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has sent you?

GABRIEL: Underwear.

WARHOL: What is one beauty secret you can share with us?

GABRIEL: Ugly is beautiful. Beauty is a bit too mainstream for me.

WARHOL: What’s your favorite movie?

GABRIEL: Orlando.

WARHOL: Are you interested in furniture?

GABRIEL: I’m obsessed with it. Especially uncomfortable furniture.

WARHOL: What kind of clothes do you like?

GABRIEL: I like to wear something that is opposite of sexy, like colorful, loose-fitting stuff. My favorite item of clothing is a huge coat.

WARHOL: Do you have a TV?

GABRIEL: I don’t own one. 

WARHOL: How were you discovered?

GABRIEL: Was I at one point? I didn’t notice.

WARHOL: Would you ever marry one of your fans?

GABRIEL: I hope my boyfriend is a fan of mine, in which case I would say yes.

WARHOL: What are your beauty secrets?

GABRIEL: Sex.

WARHOL: What do you love about New York City?

GABRIEL: The people. They couldn’t be more opposite from where I grew up in the middle of nowhere. Everyone is so polite and nonintrusive. 

WARHOL: Do you think Americans have good taste?

GABRIEL: If you have to ask, you know the answer.

WARHOL: Do you keep a diary?

GABRIEL: I don’t. I would be scared someone would get their hands on it.

WARHOL: What are you most proud of?

GABRIEL: I think I am very fair person.

WARHOL: Do you get eight hours a night?

GABRIEL: Not even close to that. 

WARHOL: How many hotels have you been kicked out of?

GABRIEL: As far as I remember, just one.