Anyone who’s been to Paris Fashion Week knows it can be a lot. But this time, arguably the most chaotic event on the French capital’s calendar also coincided with the hottest weather Paris has endured. Ever.
Where you’d usually see denim jeans, you saw shorts. Where you’d normally find shirting, lightweight jackets and even the odd smattering of leather, people instead opted for tank tops. And the usual smiling faces were replaced by sweat-soaked brows and eyes fixed on phone screens, searching for the next showroom to visit – and hoping to the heavens that it had the air conditioning cranked to the max.
Amid all the heat-induced chaos, we too found ourselves hunting for the ideal showroom to use as a base camp. And it didn’t take long to find it: KEEN’s aptly named ‘Camp Jasper’ showroom.
Based on one of Paris’s many narrow rues, Camp Jasper became our sanctuary for the entire duration of our stay in the city – not just because of the air-conditioning (which was undoubtedly among the best we encountered on the trip) but also because of the people, products, and personalities that inhabited it with us.
The core idea of Camp Jasper was for KEEN to spotlight one of their most iconic silhouettes – an approach shoe that existed long before any of your favourite luxury brands dipped their feet into the genre. But to say Camp Jasper was all about a shoe would be simply be wrong – it was a hub for events, parties and everything that makes Paris bearable – even when the UV Index is perpetually higher than your phone battery.
Countless iterations of Jasper adorned the Camp’s walls, dating all the way back to the original climbing shoe that inspired it, and stretching into new iterations like the Jasper Zionic, which we’ve all come to know and love. Seeing the Jasper’s journey throughout the walls of the showroom was also representative of KEEN’s journey as a brand. It started as a simple idea to provide functional footwear to outdoorsy folk, and has since blossomed into a cultural phenomenon no longer confined to the outdoors.
Seeing the progress the Jasper has made as a silhouette was obvious not only from the sheer volume of silhouettes and colourways adorning the showroom’s walls, but also from the amount of them adorning the floor -attached to the ankles and legs of people from all walks of life. It became easy to see that the Jasper doesn’t discriminate – its quirky simplicity makes them work with just about anything, something one of our mates, Winston of Kiwi brand Goodlids, who was sporting a particularly abused pair of the Silver Mink colourway, attested to:
‘They’re just a great everyday silhouette. You can wear them on the bike, wear them around town. You can dress them up, you can dress them down. I always have them in my suitcase, and I absolutely love them.‘
Winston’s pair had travelled all the way from New Zealand to Paris, and he informed us that they’d done plenty of miles before that too – all over Aotearoa’s coastline, up mountains and across Auckland. KEEN needn’t have wasted their time telling us why the Jasper is so great. Seeing pairs like Winston’s – each marked by years of adventures – was a far more honest form of marketing than any exhibition could ever hope to achieve.
Between trips to KEEN’s sticker-plastered fridge for another cold drink, quick stops in front of the air conditioning unit, and then back to the fridge again, we spotted all kinds of familiar faces dropping in to show their appreciation for the Jasper. And one of the most familiar faces of all belonged to Jaimus of Greater Goods.
Greater Goods had partnered with KEEN to deliver one of the showroom’s standout interactive experiences, inviting guests to personalise custom-made Nalgene slings with their initials. Each design was heat-pressed onto a small leather patch by Jaimus himself.
Every KEEN showroom we’ve visited (and we’ve been to a fair few), places significant emphasis on an interactive element – and their partnership with Greater Goods was one of the best iterations of it yet. Jaimus informed us that he’d managed to produce 300 of the Nalgene slings in three weeks, a testament to Greater Goods’ work ethic. And just how hectic everything can get in the lead-up to fashion week.
And then, there was the events thrown every day & night at Camp Jasper. Magazine launches, community runs, brunches. There really was something for everyone, which felt fitting, considering there’s now a Jasper for almost everyone, too. With so many iterations already available (and plenty more on the way) finding one that suits your style is hardly a challenge.
To say we loved spending time in KEEN’s Camp Jasper throughout our time in Paris would be an understatement. We didn’t just love it, we needed it. Not just for the air conditioning and endless cold beverages, but for everything going on inside it and all the people we connected with while we were there.
We’re not sure if KEEN intended for it to, but Camp Jasper genuinely felt like a community hub – a camp where you could come in, get some respite, share a drink with friends and continue on your way through Paris’s scorching streets feeling refreshed and inspired.
Find out more about KEEN’s Jasper silhouette at keenfootwear.co.uk
