Just So You Know, Camper Shoes Are Really Cool Right Now

I want to get something out of the way and say that this is in no way a paid or sponsored post or advertisement or advertorial or whatever for Camper, the Spanish shoe company originally founded in 1975. That said, their shoes, of late, are fucking great. Take the Wilma Extreme, a rugged goth fantasy with a heel strap, substantial grip sole, and tiny patch of hair.

I don't even own a pair of Campers. My coworker, however, does: the Lea boot, a blush-colored, Margiela-esque silhouette with a geometric sole.

"I love them," she wrote in one of our recent — and there are many — group Slack conversations about how much we love Campers. "I get many compliments on them." Camper may have made its name on super-comfortable shoes that I find aesthetically repulsive, but these new designs benefit from the company's commitment to ergonomics. "I was very pleasantly surprised at how comfortable they are," my coworker says. "I can wear them all day, though [probably] not if I was standing."

While I personally lean towards models like the Dub and Wilma because they come in muted shades of gray and black, there's lots here for people who don't fear color, like these Paradise slingbacks. While most mainstream shoe retailers tend to demure from the bold chunkiness that made ’90s footwear so great, Camper embraces those silhouettes head-on.

They look avant-garde but won't break the bank; they're fun and experimental and look like you had a friend who went to RISD design a prototype just for you. While there are many gems lurking in the regular old sections of Camper's website, a lot of these silhouettes come from a section called Camper Labs, which their site describes as "the most progressive styles of the collection...developed under the vision of Creative Director Romain Kremer." It also happens to mention Camper has a forthcoming collaboration with NYC brand Eckhaus Latta. And if you still don't trust me, which, fine, get this:

Yes, Solange wears them. Specifically a candy-pink, Barbie's Moschino dreamhouse model called the Kobarah, which, unlike practically everything else Solange has ever worn, is available to the public! For $110! Case closed.