Acne Studios has always been a safe haven for fashion’s freaks and geeks, but everyone has to grow up sometime. Jonny Johansson’s spring collection was rooted in the obsessions of teenagers, with the idea of using clothing to project yourself as a superhero.
But he wasn’t talking about teenagers chewing mastic gum to chisel their jawline, or other looksmaxxing tricks. Choreographer Jordan Robson flexed his toned limbs in the look book, equally at ease in baggy pants as in flimsy miniskirts that exposed acres of thigh.
“It’s not about superhero clothing, it’s more the attitude,” Johansson explained. “He’s not a virgin anymore.”
In a season that has seen many brands seeking refuge in classic tailoring and conservative cuts, Acne remains committed to taking risks. Johansson said he was inspired by the revolution in men’s dressing that has seen gender norms fly out the window.
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“Everything is changed,” he said. “It’s interesting, because fashion changes all the time, but not drastically like that.”
In this brave new world, anything goes: printed skivvies with a see-through trenchcoat; suit jackets with cycling shorts, or a shredded knit crop top with the latest iteration of Acne’s supersize canvas pants with trompe-l’oeil denim prints.
Still, comic nerds are also welcome. The brand partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products on items featuring DC Comics heroines like Wonder Woman and Catwoman. Other graphics included a spray-painted design by London-based artist Francesca Frankis, aka Coldf33t, which appeared on a fleece jacket.
Johansson presented the collection at his newly minted headquarters in Paris, a building that combines the grandeur of a 19th-century mansion with the rawness of a former pharmaceutical laboratory, which now serves as his showroom.
The site, which will house his women’s design team and other staff, is still being finalized, but Johansson has already installed a phallic pink sculpture in the reception area. After years of being scattered in smaller premises across town, Acne finally has a Batcave of its own.
