Interview: CAMO: Stefano Ughetti

In conversation with // CAMO: Stefano Ughetti

Following interview conducted with Stefano Ughetti for The Voyager Shop.

Big big fan of the Made in Italy brand Camo.

In 2012 we loved what Stefano Ughetti of Camo Factory was doing with his clothing. His unique fitting paired well the classic shapes of the garments, and the attention to detail in construction, sourcing and passion for quality textiles have kept us loving his line. Today, four years later Camo has matured into a beautiful line of classic beautiful clothing that can and, in the case of some of our favorite pieces from the past, will stand the test of time.

We are so pleased to have had such an outstanding relationship with Camo, and are super excited for the SS16 collection which we just received.  

The following is a throwback to an interview we had with Stefano in April of 2012, when The Voyager Shop was young, and when Camo was starting to come into it’s own.

Why the name CAMO? This is a pretty loaded word - clearly you are not making military wears but we’re curious as to how you see camouflage playing into your line?

CAMO is the abbreviation of “camouflage”.

It is pronounced in the same way in all the languages of the world and it is often used to indicate a specific pattern of any product. CAMO is not just “fashion” but an idea and a reality with a specific identity so to be recognized in any element. Usually it is compared to the army camouflaged patterns, but in our case this has nothing to do with the war. The items of the CAMO collection use tissues born with specific purposes, then modified by us, so camouflaged under other meanings, telling our inspirations and our will to astonish and play remaining inside the borders and the rules given by society.

It seems that you started your career in textiles, then moved over to industrial design, before finding your way back to textiles and fashion design. Can you describe the moment when you realized that fashion design is where you needed to be?

I realized that I wanted to do this thanks to my wish to communicate my personal thoughts even if I didn’t have fashion education. For this reason I started before opening a store, Superstar, founded in 2005. Now Superstar is our creative office where we work entirely concerning CAMO project.

How important is Italy in your product? Do you think you are making an Italian product?

All CAMO products are made entirely in Italy, both the fabrics and the production.

I searched for little laboratories not only in the Biellese area but beyond it as well. They are usually family-owned businesses and specialize in a very unique product typology, this way the manufacturing is characterized on a very high level and I can develop a special way of working with them based on a useful exchange of views. The product is not dictated but, rather, is created by discussing all of the details that I propose.

All of the materials you source are made in Italy. Is this a conscious, political decision? If it wasn’t to start, do you feel strongly about maintaining this model now?

Local production and fabrics are very important for me cause it’s decisive for quality work.

I am thinking of my company/brand like a restaurant: I would order best local product and I would farm my kitchen garden, but, if in my country there is not ananas (pineapple), NO ananas in my menu, then.

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