“When I was in London a year ago I met an American guy who was recently bankrupt. He didn’t have any money so I took him for a drink and bought him some food. He was a vintage collector and a writer, but he is a musician, too, and he told me that even though his business is on its knees, he has never felt so creative. I think that’s inspiring. For me fashion had become too narrow. Everything had to be so fucking luxurious, and the whole creative and expressive part disappeared.”
(Jonny Johansen 2009)
About the brand and its vision:
Swedish brand, Acne, have the last couple of years risen like a comet on the fashion sky, with each new collection outshining the last.
With its architectural, graphic and functional vibe, it’s a fresh breath of air from the extravagance and couture other designers display. You could almost say without putting your finger on what it is, that’s its something distinctly Swedish about the brand.
As creative director Jonny Johansson said in an interview and that I think captures the vision of acne and modern dressing in general perfectly: “Fashion is the best form of self-expression. We like to design pieces that together form the coolest wardrobe, but is ultimately wearable. It becomes one way of thinking as individual pieces, but together creates a strong, modern and considered statement."
Simple, minimalist pices makes for a “arty”, contemperary and spacious feel
What fascinated me the most about this label (which derives its name from 'Ambition to Create Novel Expressions') was that the company started out as an ad agency only to evolve into a creative collective that today includes everything from Acne Film to Acne Paper (an independent magazine). The quest to help others build their own brands was linked to their own ambition to create a lifestyle label, which initially resulted in a small collection of jeans (100 pices in 1997) that was distributed primarily to friends and clients.
The denim gear ended up being featured in Swedish Elle which lead to a surge in popularity and soon stores all over the country were requesting stock. A full collection was finally launched in 1998 and over a decade later, the label can be found globally with 16 flagships in ten countries, not only Scandinavia but also Australia, Austria, France, Germany and the USA. The lates expancion to the growing number to the list of successes the relatively new Acne Studio London, open to the public from Friday 16 July 2010.
Now, they sell on average about 300,000 pairs of denim a year, along with a wide range of clothing. This range has a rebellious attitude towards fashion, and the collections have a feel of someones wardrobe; cool and personal. The result is that nothing dominates anything else, yet every piece is effortlessly stylish. It sounds simple enough, but keeping fashion subtle yet aspirational is a difficult balance that is still lost on some design houses.
The clothes are made out of luxurious fabrics that compliment the body, from beautifully crafted leather skirts to flowing maxi dresses and brilliant basics. Acne has clearly established itself as a brand with its finger on the fashion pulse and an eye for creating items that will fit perfectly into any wardrobe. I find that the fact that the brand is Swedish in origin shines through in the beautifully cut pieces. Johansson describes the brand as a 'hybrid of Swedish craftsmanship and functionality', which sums up the vision and feel of Acne well.
About the Acne Studio London:
The expansion into the London retail landscape had always been the brand’s long-term goal. Founder and Creative Director Johansson told GQ.com: “Very early on, back in 1999, we started selling to London. I think we even sold to Selfridges but we were so young and couldn't deliver - we got a bad reputation! We have really been looking for a store and it's been a long wait. I'm super happy with the location: I really love Dover Street Market, The Wolsley is quite close and I stay at Brown's Hotel. So I think it's an area that's neat, in between offices and art dealers.
Front of the store on Dover Street
Spread over four floors and a basement, the store's design pays tribute to the building's former role as an art gallery. Think stark studio-style décor - white walls, Danish pine floors, Swedish concrete - and a huge number of works on display, including work from resident artists Jean Cocteau (who’s been a consistant inspiration for the brands creative director Johnny Johanssen when it comes to working with the mens line), Jeremiah Goodman and Katerina Jebb (represented here by a scan of a naked breast signed by Hugh Hefner).
Art displays in the lounge area
"Ever since we formed Acne we always talked about a house with different levels of creativity to house all of our artistic endeavours," said Johansson. He continued: "The Studio will be more than just clothing it will be a house of differing creativity."
Just like the luxurious yet simple clothes, the interiors in this relatively new store, combine a certain sophistication with stark simplicity. Initially there isn't that much decor to distract you. A few glass and wooden shelves display the shoes, including this seasons showstoppers. This is intergrated with the grand piano that is to be found upon entry.
The grand piano in the entry, is played every weekend by a professional piano player
The bright and airy front area houses the majority of the men’s line, which aside from a few key statement pieces is generally subtle, understated and meant to form a capsule wardrobe that won't compete with other items in the collection.
As Jonny Johansson said in an interview and that I think captures the vision of acne and modern dressing in general perfectly: “Fashion is the best form of self-expression. We like to design pieces that together form the coolest wardrobe, but is ultimately wearable. It becomes one way of thinking as individual pieces, but together creates a strong, modern and considered statement."
When asked in an interview with dazed digital magazine how this store in London’s dover street, differentiates itself from his other spaces of display, Johansson answeres: “It was quite difficult because I have always worked with historic spaces and this isn't one. That's also why we've included these art pieces, because that's what this space was originally designed for. I don't say that our clothing is art, because it's fashion, it's playful. I don't consider it art, Although obviously we draw on art for our inspiration”.
Helmut Langs “Disected eagle” (featured on the 3rd floor as an homage to Lang)
Details regarding the store:
13 Dover Street, London W1.
0207 629 9374;
Rewiew of Acnes latest collection, Womenswear (AW11)
Jonny Johansson's latest collection of Acne womenswear (AW 11) continued on his path of creating for a modern, strong and nonchalant girl. Playing with volume in jackets and shift dresses he enlarged proportions giving the upper body size. Trousers and skirts were slimline in contrast, accentuating the oversized tops. Johansson said he'd also been looking at the work of British artist Daniel Silver, so he was thinking about sculptural forms. A somewhat abstract influence if it dictated the appealing volumes of the clothes, particularly when they were shown in richly colored leather .Bold and bright blues, reds and oranges featured throughout, in contrast to what is often seen in a winter collection, injecting some colour into a season, that’s traditionally dark and glum. Johansson created "not a rich, but cool" collection that included earthy mauve and mustard tones in lots of leather and hints of metallics and electric blues to suit its wide audience. It was this injection of colour that for me was what made this collection sucsessfull and gave it a fresh feel while staying loyal to the peculiar androgony that I see as the read thread in Johanssons design philosophy.
The shades were chosen to sit unnaturally with each other, enhancing the classic Acne nonchalance. Metallic leathers were also a strong feature throughout the collection, Johansson describes metal as something spiritual and needed in a collection to create the airy vibe he was going for. The latest collection was all created under the theme of 'the studio', inspired by the people that worked around him at his headquarters and how they used limitied means to create and customize special, fashion-forward diy-designs. AC lead makeup artist Lynsey Alexander along with Lucia Pieroni decided on a "cool, but boyish and almost androgynous makeup look that is powerful, clean and strong" on the models backstage to complement the clothing.
Acne as an androgynous label:
Acne is in many ways a very androgynous brand, the cool sleek minimalist clothing styles for both men and women, and the ambition to create beautifully shaped, architectural basics that you could wear as a capsule collection or mix up individualy with other brands, really goes with the spirit of undefinable androgony and identity.
In todays world where men dress like women and vise versa, finding your gender identity can be hard. And the societys that do so are often looked down upon, but brands like Acne don’t discriminate. Acne have in the spirit of the time collaborated with a vide variety of designers and companies ranging from a luxury inspired couture collection with lanvin to a unisex line of denim shirt named after dynasty stars in collaboration with gender liberated candy magazine.
We have entered a time that are not defined by gender anymore, a neutral zone when it comes to dressing, where a person is judged on how its wearing something instead of what its wearing. Acne made a smart move, throwing them selves at this increasing trend before it peaked or even hit the high street, to diversefy , show tolerance and acseptace and differentiate/iconify their brand even more.
My personal favourites from the A/W 2011 collection for women, the dusty pink leather vest and the silver platforms.
Oversized and layers of clothing creates interesting siluettes
Clothing in Olives, zesty orange, blues and pale pinks made the colours of this A/W collection stand out
