Achilles Ion Gabriel Goes No- filter for Debut Collection
The Finnish designer is introducing his namesake genderless brand at Pitti Uomo.
MILAN — It may have been a long time coming for Finnish designer Achilles Ion Gabriel to launch a full-fledged namesake fashion brand, but his penchant — and desire — for creation have always been his driving force.
“While I'm most established as a shoe designer, I actually have always designed different kinds of things, clothing, jewels, campaigns, even interiors,” the 36-yearold creative told WWD ahead of his debut. “I love to put my hands, for the first time, in a complete collection of ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories. And honestly, now I'm asking myself, ‘Why didn't I do this earlier?' It feels so natural,” he said.
Best known as the creative director of Camper and Camperlab, he is introducing a new eponymous label at Pitti Uomo, as the leading menswear trade show's
“Debut Collection.”
“Achilles Ion Gabriel is my whole vision, the real me without any filters. It's my dream come true. It's my personal evolution in design and through a very fortunate course of circumstances and events that ignited — maybe from the cosmos, probably fate — that conspired and created the moment for me to step in,” he said.
Often prized for his surreal vision of fashion and products, most notably seen in shoes, Ion Gabriel said he feels energized to be taking his vision up a notch. He ran his own footwear label, dubbed Ion, between 2012 and 2019, but then discontinued it and started consulting for the likes of Marni and Sunnei, as well as Marimekko, until he landed the top creative job at the Spanish footwear firm.
For Achilles Ion Gabriel he is consciously taking a different approach, leaving his footwear expertise slightly on the side. “This time for me the creative process started from clothes,” he said.
Although he declined to disclose too many details on what his first collection will look like, he described it as a “menu,” filled with tailoring, denim and leather to be “served at lunchtime,” given the show takes place at noon CET on Thursday at Florence's Stazione Leopolda venue. The bleached-blonde creative's personal style often includes oversize suits cut in boxy, quirky proportions and leather ensembles, sometimes tinged with a gloomy, raw bent.
He characterizes the brand as genderneutral and seasonless — although he plans to drop two collections per year to coincide with the spring and fall markets for business purposes.
“What I mean by gender-neutral is that I want to create beauty that doesn't take orders from anyone. I'm a little surprised that we still want to label such things, for me gender is very liquid. Various art forms, including design, have always reflected the way we are and express ourselves, creating new ways for selfexpression,” Ion Gabriel said.
He attributes his free-spirited creative bent to his upbringing surrounded by
“very bold, quirky and exquisite” women, referencing his grandmother and mother, the latter an enduro and snowmobile rider.
The brand's collections will only be available through the Achilles Ion Gabriel's website, in addition to a small selection of retailers, yet to be disclosed.
After the Pitti Uomo showcase, the designer also plans to stage a presentation during Paris Men's Fashion Week later this month.