18 East Unveils Nostalgic Summer Outdoor Capsule With "Camp Store" Zine
Inspired by the founder’s childhood memories at Vermont’s Camp Billings.
Summary
- Inspired by founder Kenny Ciongoli’s childhood memories at Camp Billings, 18 East has released its annual “Summer Outdoor Capsule,” a collection of cross-season staples with nostalgic details like hand-stitching, washed fleeces, and a vintage color palette.
- The collection features pieces like a check shirt with hand-stitched embroidery, a sherpa full-zip, and a rugby shirt with “Camp Billings” graphics, while a special zine was also created to further detail the release.
With a nostalgic camp-inspired rollout, 18 East has released its annual Summer Outdoor Capsule — a range of thoughtfully crafted pieces, functional both for the outdoors and as cross-season staples. In a highly personal collaboration with Vermont’s Camp Billings titled “Take Me Home”, 18 East founder Kenny Ciongoli drew inspiration from his childhood memories at the campsite.
“Every year, when Eighteen East’s design calendar shifts towards our summer outdoor capsule, my mind immediately heads north to the banks of Lake Fairlee, on the eastern border of Vermont,” he said in an open letter on Instagram. I spent nine unforgettable summers there — first as a camper and then a counselor — an extraordinary sleepaway camp called Camp Billings,” he continued.
Featuring details like sashiko-inspired stitching, washed fleeces, retro graphics, and a vintage color palette, the collection is laden with nostalgic sensibilities. Standing out is a brown check shirt with hand-stitched embroidery and the RC2 Fullzip — made with high pile sherpa and retro contrast nylon.
Ciongoki added, “Billings provided me with my first true taste of independence, a safe, supportive environment for self-discovery and the opportunity to explore —and fall in love with the natural world,” highlighting the central role of the camp in the collection. Among other summertime silhouettes, a bubble-letter Camp Billings logo is used for a green Rugby shirt and primary-colored nylon swim trunks. As found on accessories, including an outdoor backpack and classic caps, various appliques are also designed to resemble Lake Fairlee/Billings decals and iron-on patches.
To further the homage to Camp Billings, 18 East produced a special zine centering on camp memories and detailed stories about the key pieces, including photography by Vinny Picone and words by Kenny Ciongoli
The 18 East Summer Outdoor Capsule and the Camp Store zine are available at the official 18 East web store and physical locations.
