The genesis of Acne Studios’ latest collection can be traced back to last year, when Creative Director Jonny Johansson encountered an installation by artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase at Sadie Coles HQ in London. The impact of that experience, as Johansson described backstage, was profound. He felt inspired by the work’s “tenderness, playfulness and spontaneity,” and it led him to question his own approach to fashion. “I’d been going too mad for fashion, and that I wanted to do something different, and maybe take more of a risk,” he reflected.
This desire for change is evident in the collection itself. The runway show unfolded within a curated space featuring Lyndon Chase’s installation, a blend of layered furniture and sculpture, creating a liminal zone where fashion and contemporary art intersected. The collection itself mirrored this fusion.
Lyndon Chase’s exploration of domesticity, privacy, and “interior moments” was reflected in garments that seemed to be inspired by interior design materials. The pieces evoked a sense of ambiguity, or perhaps even ambivalence, towards the usual codes of identity that clothing often embodies.
Like the furniture within the show’s setting, the garments felt fundamentally conventional, yet they had been subtly altered and amplified through the design process, prompting a critical examination of those conventions. This playful approach was evident in the models’ styling as well—they sported crushed hairstyles and rimless spectacles, a subtle nod to Johansson’s childhood piano teacher, creating a sense of character and personality that felt like a gentle nudge against the expected.
The tailoring showcased oversized and amplified silhouettes in padded mock-croc and leather overcoats. Knitwear appeared artfully disarrayed, as if hastily thrown on after being pulled from the dryer. Shrunken tops, crafted from what seemed like boiled wool blankets, were frayed and intentionally picked at along their edges, adding a touch of imperfection and raw authenticity.
This unexpected approach provided a compelling backdrop for the collection’s standout piece: the “meta mom jeans.” These jeans were fitted at the waist, flaring out dramatically at the hips and culminating in either a multi-break hem or a wide cuff edged in floral details, reminiscent of the cool style of past generations.
Eveningwear included jersey dresses with angular, layered seams, each constructed with differently printed fabrics, creating a sense of deliberate chaos. The collection was rounded out by an endearingly awkward lampshade gown, adorned with a scattering of bows—a perfect embodiment of formal abnormality.
