THE DISRUPTIVE WORLD OF JONNY JOHANSSON’S ACNE STUDIOS

Fundamental to this is the community and collaborative spirit inherent to Acne Studios, where interdisciplinary exchange is crucial in achieving its output of seemingly boundless creativity. Celebrating this, UrlfreezeShops takes a look at the creative and multidisciplinary world that Jonny Johansson has built with Acne Studios, focusing on his journey as the brand’s Creative Director, the cult-favourite product he has created and the brand’s heavy immersion in the artistic world.  

In Stockholm in 1996, a collective of individuals came together through a shared passion of creative expression. This passion for creativity was free flowing and malleable, weaving different disciplines together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The multidisciplinary collective was aptly named ACNE: an acronym for “Ambitions to Create Novel Expressions”. The visionaries at the helm of this collective were Mats Johansson, Tomas Skoging, Jesper Kouthoofd and Jonny Johansson. The latter of the four, Jonny, decided to make 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching, cleverly marketing his product — intentionally or not — by giving them away to the creative circle surrounding him. But this was merely the beginning — a droplet of water in the vast lake of which Acne Studios would eventually become.

What this initial creation of denim was all about for Jonny Johansson — and, indeed, what Acne Studios has consistently represented — is freedom in self-expression, something which can be traced back to the milieu of his youth and upbringing. In his teenage years, the majority of which were spent in Umeå before relocating to Stockholm when he was 19, Jonny formed part of several post-punk bands — a time in which he would really immerse himself in all elements of self-expression, particularly how he dressed. His parents, too, would serve as somewhat of a muse to Jonny; his mother was an artist, while his father dressed in a way free of convention, often pushing boundaries in a way that was unapologetically his own.  

While denim represented the initial stepping stone into the world of fashion for Acne Studios, the brand would steadily evolve from that day onwards, becoming increasingly multifaceted as the decades went on. To attempt to really pinpoint the aesthetic approach of Acne Studios would be an injustice to the malleable thing it represents; garments glide freely between minimal and bold. Playful and refined. Elevated and accessible. Think of them more as building blocks for self-expression, shirking the conventions of stylistic archetypes and opening new horizons for wearers.

Within this, Jonny Johansson has refused to be pigeonholed with his designs, establishing a plethora of cult favourites and strong brand identifiers along the way. Denim, of course, has represented a mainstay throughout Acne Studios’ history, like the brand’s 1991 jeans with its distinctive loose fit and built-in adjustable belt, or the relaxed-fitting 2003 jeans in their various washes and treatments. Accessories, too, are where Jonny Johansson and Acne Studios’ innovation shines: vibrant and experimental, yet equally grounded in everyday wearability. The much-loved Musubi bag, for instance, with its buttery smooth, luxurious leather and its iconic, Japanese-inspired twisted knots. Or Acne Studios’ signature mohair plaid scarves, their oversized construction enveloping wearers in a swathe of Scandinavian cosiness.

Throughout its history, leather goods have also represented an Acne Studios strong suit, like its lauded biker jackets often constructed using distressed leather and cut to that boxy, Acne Studios-typical fit. Footwear is also an area Acne Studios has heavily immersed itself in throughout the years, ranging from leather boots to sneakers in various guises. The label’s Steffey and Perey sneakers, for example, showcase a premium take on classic tennis footwear, reflecting Acne Studios’ ability to rework the familiar into something refined and elevated.

Integral to Acne Studios’ design codes are also the more ubiquitous pillars of the brand, like its signature “Face” collection which is now deeply embedded in its creative output. The face motif has been described as a reflection of an ordinary Swedish citizen by Jonny Johansson — not too happy, not too sad, but somewhere in between — roughly translating into “Lagom”. Prior to 2017, the “Face” logo had made the odd cameo, its straight face gazing back at viewers with nonchalance, though that very year marked the beginning of its debut, full-length collection.

Since its earlier days, art has represented a pillar of Acne Studios’ output, something which has been woven into its DNA through its founding acronym, Ambitions to Create Novel Expressions. In previous interviews, Acne Founder Jonny Johansson has described his desire to operate in a similar manner to the famous Warholian factory: a sort of Venn diagram where multiple artistic elements would overlap, combine and amplify one and other.

As such, Acne Studios has blossomed into a global artistic network throughout the years, the branches of which have spread far and wide, borrowing deep into cultural movements and modes of expression. Perhaps the most succinct example of this would be the Acne Paper: an experimental, interdisciplinary art journal. After a seven-year-long hiatus — the publication originally ran between 2005 and 2014 — Acne Paper made its return in 2021 with an amped-up design direction. Within this, it expanded to 400 pages and came with a revised format and higher production values, though it maintained the same cross-disciplinary fusion it was founded with. The latest from Acne Studios, the 18th issue of the publication titled House of Acne Paper, is centred around a fictitious home, furnished by a fantasy collection of furniture, art and objects.

Beyond just celebrating various forms of art, Acne Studios has continuously immersed itself one step further, partnering with a slew of lauded creatives throughout the years. In 2014, Acne Studios partnered with the Hilma af Klint foundation to create wearable art based on her most illustrious work, resulting in garments imbued with her exuberant abstract art, like shirts covered with The Ten Largest, No. 7, Adulthood from 1907. Other iconic artists have been brought into the Acne Studios ecosystem, too, like Larry Stanton with the commemorative "Acne Studios Loves Larry Stanton” collection. The capsule was created in partnership with the late artist’s estate, manifesting in apparel, physical exhibitions and a commemorative Acne Paper, with all proceeds donated to Visual AIDS: the New York-based contemporary arts organisation committed to raising AIDS awareness.

What really unites Acne Studios’ artistic partnerships, despite their broad variations and approaches, is a curiosity for exploring the unknown, championing modes of thought and ways of expression aimed at broadening horizons. The brand’s partnership with Rabin Huissen for SS22, for instance, included not only an array of printed garments, but also a mini documentary delving into the artist’s practice. Huissen creates artwork utilising the human body as a tool, capturing moments in time that are then covered up and preserved for viewers to later open and explore, creating a kind of connection between two individuals on a metaphysical level.

Photography is also another form of creative expression close to Jonny Johansson’s heart, playing a pivotal role in the history of Acne Studios. Of course, the synergy between photography and fashion is something that’s almost a given, though as with anything creative, things are more immersive and deeper rooted when it comes to Jonny Johannson’s Acne Studios. A perfect example of this would be the fashion house’s partnership with Ronan Mckenzie in 2022, where Acne Studios worked together with the London-based artist, photographer and designer on a multimedia project. The project, which was centred around the launch of Acne Studios' A/W ’22 denim collection, was titled “BE GOOD NOW”: an assemblage of images and texts that sought to explore Mckenzie's connections with her Caribbean heritage and identity.

Fashion is a world that moves at near-breakneck speed, its pace and thirst for newness often leaving audiences in the liminal space between stimulated and bored. It can, as such, take a lot to grasp the attention with such frenetic noise reverberating around us, though Acne Studios is a brand that cuts through this with razor sharp precision. It’s projects like 2022’s Musubi campaign which encapsulate this perfectly, which saw Acne Studios link up with Talia Chetrit to capture the famous leather bag in an intimate and artistic photoshoot. This involved spotlighting the Musubi bag in various iterations alongside muscular nude dancers, those of whom were chosen for their bodies resembling the figurative qualities of the bag itself.   

Acne Studios’ emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in its campaigns are what makes them so worthy of praising, like “Modern Family” from 2017, which involved capturing same sex couples and their families wearing Acne Studios’ Face collection. Within this, Kordale Lewis, Kaleb Anthony and their four children starred in the shoot captured by Inez and Vinoodh, marking a much-needed celebration of what families look like in the modern era. When speaking about the campaign, Jonny Johansson said, “since Acne Studios started as a collective, we would see each other as a family back in the days. I therefore wanted to portray households of today, in all constellations”.

For many decades, runway shows have served as a metaphorical canvas for exercising creativity: a spectacle in which the garments are components of a broader, often heavily nuanced narrative. Acne Studios is no stranger to this, with the brand’s Fall 2023 collection serving as evidence. Jonny Johansson partnered with Shona Heath, the pioneering British set designer, to help create an immersive, fantastical world that “captured the topography of a dark forest”. What resulted was otherworldly and bordering on psychedelic, featuring contorting, bejeweled vines, crochet flowers and sparkling gravel. It served as a reflection of the clothing and the models themselves — even one had a landscape painted across the torso — which was rooted in growth and evolution inspired by Swedish nature. The ethereal feel was further enhanced by avant-garde electronic composer Sarahsson, who soundtracked the show to further the dystopic feel.   

Ultimately, all of these things are just singular examples of Acne Studios’ vast and far-reaching creative universe: an ever-expanding, relentlessly innovative hub where art, fashion, photography and design seamlessly combine.