How did you develop your creative process?
I love “material-ism,” there are materials around which I base an entire project. I love the whole manufacturing process that goes into a product and I love being in contact with artisans and companies to establish a strong connection with them. Fernando, instead, is more technical, thus with a completely different method than mine.
How do you approach companies to create impactful collaborations?
It is very interesting. Things happen spontaneously from the first meeting; if a collaboration is destined to work you can tell right away and we’re certain we can create something important, otherwise something is missing. The companies that come to us, however, all have a dreamlike philosophy, on the continuum between art and design and manufacturing, thus it’s not difficult to come across one another. We’ve done our third project with Louis Vuitton called “Object Nomade,” and like the previous ones, with different requests and products, the approach must be one of love, emotion and gut feeling. If we were only technical, how could it work?
Recycling is one of your prerogatives; how are you able to make it workable in the fashion industry?
When Melissa asked us to create a line of 10 shoes, we decided to make them in plastic using the highest percentage possible of recycled PVC; when Lacoste invited us to design a limited edition of their historic polo shirt, we had the idea to manufacture it in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. We try to always bring this philosophy of reuse and recycling into every collaboration, wherever possible. The installation “Bandidos Illuminados” for Antonio Marras is another perfect example where we worked very hard with embroiderers in the north of Brazil, in a beautiful place far from everywhere, asking them to reproduce images of their own faces onto oval lamps. I live in a town with a huge social gap and it’s vitally important to me to make strong ethical choices an active part of what we do.
Future projects?
I am working on an exhibition in New York for Mark Bender and another one just recently opened at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba (IRMAOS CAMPANA, open until 20 August, 2017). Besides the exhibitions, I have a lot of trips planned, mostly in Chile, where I am following a project with local artisans. I love to travel, if I stay in Sao Paolo more than 2 or 3 weeks I feel the need for a change of scenery. It’s the need to get out of my comfort zone, and plus, I am not getting any younger, so change helps keep me active (laughs).
An identifying object of the “Campana Brothers” style?
I would say stuffed animals. Fernando and I tell stories through objects that induce emotion, instilling in what we create a vitality that comes from our own great passion. For that reason, we produce stuffed animals, with their expressive appearance, for Campana collections. I taught the women who were working for small clothing factories how to make them and I am very proud.
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