The COVID-19 crisis that has rocked the world since the start of 2020 is also calling into question many of the fashion industry’s current production processes. This unprecedented standstill and forced break is generating new consumer attitudes and a desire to refocus on more human-centric values. Fashion must now rethink its relentless innovation race and offer a fairer, gentler vision by agreeing to slow down its frantic pace. Forty-five years after its creation, Camper is returning to its roots on the island of Mallorca in Spain, in the heart of the Mediterranean, where it all began. That’s where the company’s iconic slogan was born: “Walk, don’t run”, words that ring even more true today, at a time in history when humanity is forced to take a few steps backwards and reassess its priorities. This message, which calls for a useful, functional and practical kind of fashion, is the very essence of Camper, which is now reappropriating the codes behind its original success.

For the occasion, the company is reissuing its magazine called The Walking Society, which showcases all the emblematic and artisanal figures of Mallorca, including restaurant owners, architects and ceramicists. With the desire to shift our gaze from the mosaic of connected screens towards more tangible landscapes made of earth, flesh and the rising sun, The Walking Society invites us to reclaim our curiosity for the living. Through photographs, illustrations, stories and poems, we take a deep dive into the magic of the unknown, a boundless exploration of the world’s most beautiful offerings. Speaking with Crash, local artists and artisans offered their vision of what Mallorca is all about.

All photos above: Son Forteza, Mallorca, the cradle of Camper.

WALKING IS OBSERVING, LISTENING, FEELING, THINKING AND REFLECTING. IN SHORT, IT IS ABOUT FEELING THE REALITY OF THE MOMENT. SOMETIMES THE BEAUTY OF WALKING IS THE SENSE OF ESCAPING AND GETTING LOST – Marta Armengol

MY SOURCES OF INSPIRATION ARE MULTIPLE: NATURE ITSELF – A LOG, A STONE, A TEXTURE, A SEABED – THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, JAPANESE CERAMICS AS A PROCESS AND AN AESTHETIC – Joan Pere Català, ceramist

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST IS WHAT I HAVE AT MY FINGERTIPS, THE SIMPLEST OR MOST EVERYDAY THINGS AROUND ME: A CONVERSATION, A BOOK, A DOORKNOB, A ROCK BY THE SEA. – Marta Armengol, designer

Ca Na Toneta restaurant, Mallorca, the Solivellas sisters.

UP UNTIL THE PANDEMIC, I LIVED IN TUNE WITH A TIME THAT MARKED MY ENVIRONMENT, I HAD NO CONTROL OVER IT. NOW I FEEL THAT IT HAS CHANGED. I FEEL THAT MY ENVIRONMENT, MY ISLAND, HAS REGAINED ITS ORIGINAL SPIRIT WHICH HAS LONG MADE ITS REPUTATION AS ‘THE ISLAND OF CALM’, WHICH MEANS THAT I NO LONGER FEEL ENSLAVED TO TIME. – María Solivellas, chef

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All photos by Frank Perrin.