In a minimal setting at the Lycée Carnot, Acne Studios’ Jonny Johansson invited showgoers to sit on seats built into a sunken living room covered in abstract animal-print faux fur, which would later be reclaimed by the Parisian fashion school Studio Berçot and upcycled next season.
“I wanted to play with things that felt familiar”, Johansson said, recalling that his introduction to fashion was through altering a jacket his mom bought for him when he was a teenager to try to make it look more cool.
“When I was a kid, my career in fashion started when I started cutting”, Johansson remembered. “My mom bought me something she thought I liked, I cut it and then sewed it onto a belt. I went to school with it and that’s when I started playing with denim, the beginning of Acne Studios. That’s why it has an emotional component for me – it’s a way to use clothing as a personal expression”.
Models walked down the runway in garments that have been cut up, restitched and aged. Standouts include hyper high-waisted paper bag waist maxi skirts, supersized leather blazers, distressed knits reworked with crystals and quilted upholstery coats. Elsewhere, dresses arrived with fringes and draped, while bustier top ball gowns featured patchwork denim or knit. Meanwhile, floral motifs have been embroidered with crystals to achieve a baroque effect. Their materials, along with the entire collection, were handmade and homemade with fabrics and intentional alterations comprising patchwork upcycled denim and leather, distressed jersey, cotton knit, silver hand-painted leather, silk crepe, upholstery jacquard, and foam elements.
©Acne Studios