Minimal, unconventional, experimental and punk. The history of Acne Studios, the brand founded by designer Jonny Johansson in Stockholm in 1997.

It would be wrong to limit the reality of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/acne-studios-pfw-rediscovering-denim-and-embracing-origins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Acne Studios</a> to a simple fashion brand . Since 1997 - the year in which stylist Jonny Johansson founded the Scandinavian brand - Acne Studios has distinguished itself in the fashion system, creating a multidisciplinary reality that attracts different disciplines, from design to art, from architecture to music to photography. Focusing on transversality, the brand produces ready-to-wear clothing and accessories , magazines, books and furnishing objects.

THE ORIGINS OF JONNY JOHANSSON AND ACNE STUDIOS

Born in 1960 in Ume&aring; - a city in the north of Sweden - to an artist mother and a military father, Jonny Johansson spent his youth playing the guitar in various rock bands. His career began with a collective called ACNE , co-founded together with Mats Johansson, Jesper Kouthoofd and Tomas Skoging . Initially an advertising agency, the four dealt in parallel with film production, clothing and video games. However, it is the fashion department that drives the success of ACNE , and this is how Jonny Johansson decides to take over the creative reins, consolidating the brand's statement and making it one of the poles of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/scandinavian-brands-scandi-girl-style-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scandinavian fashion</a>.

Jonny Johansson (Courtesy of Acne Studios)

THE ORIGINS OF THE NAME ACNE STUDIOS

Initially the acronym for ACNE was &quot; Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises&quot; , subsequently Jonny Johansson transformed it into Acne Studios , giving a new explanation of the acronym, now &quot;Ambition to Create Novel Expressions&quot; . Although Acne might seem like an unappealing word, the designer revealed that his intent was to decontextualize the word to find a totally different connotation.

Acne Studios, the finale of the autumn winter 2024 fashion show (Getty Images)

THE FACE LOGO

In addition to the internal label bearing the Acne Studios writing on each garment and accessory, Jonny Johansson created the Face logo. It is a smiley similar to an emoji which, according to the founder, represents the stereotype of the Scandinavian citizen &quot; Neither too happy and smiling, nor too sad&quot;. The expression of this smiley in Swedish translates to the word lagom. During the years the creative director transformed it into a distinctive sign for Acne Studios , positioning it in the form of a metal plate, embroidery or print, on women&#39;s and men&#39;s fashion garments and accessories.

Acne Studios Face logo via @AcneStudios

ACNE PAPER, THE ACNE STUDIOS MAGAZINE

Acne Paper has been the official biannual magazine of Acne Studios since 2005. The project was born from the union of two minds: on the one hand the aesthetic sensitivity of Editor in Chief Thomas Persson , on the other the creative flair of Jonny Johansson. Over the years, the magazine has collected works that have gone down in history in the world of fashion publishing, such as the editorial inspired by Marchesa Casati starring the actress Tilda Swinton, the nude shots of Leigh Bowery in the studio of the English artist Lucian Freud , the photographic works of the most famous contemporary <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/female-fashion-photographers-womens-history-month-annie-leibovitz-petra-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photographers</a> including David Bailey, Irving Penn, Paolo Roversi and Roe Ethridge. &laquo;Acne Paper was a magazine made with love in which many talented people were brought together&raquo; says Thomas Persson on the occasion of the Acne Paper Book collection, &laquo;Each issue involved individuals from all walks of life, personalities whose cultural backgrounds or areas of knowledge probably they had never been featured in the same publication before."

ACNE STUDIOS IS STYLE AND EXPERIMENTATION

Unconventional, crafty, functional, but also minimal, edgy and conceptual. The style of Acne Studios perfectly reflects the transversal soul of the brand. It is as if each garment or accessory best defines the quintessence of those who choose to wear it, thus escaping the dynamics linked to occasions of use, seasonality and trends. One aspect that distinguishes the brand is certainly the experimental approach to materials, confirming itself as one of the leading brands in the knitwear division (the workmanship and the playful approach to knitwear are highly appreciated) and <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/the-future-of-denim-5-trendsetting-looks-for-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denim</a> . But among Jonny Johansson's fetishes we also find footwear - real sculptures, with which you can dare with extravagant shapes and designs - or bags .

« Experimentation is what I love about designing something new. It&#39;s like an artist&#39;s studio, or a band&#39;s rehearsal room. &quot; Jonny Johansson

ACNE STUDIOS DENIM

Torn, smeared, creased, dyed, soiled, frayed and blitzed. Denim has always been a blank canvas on which to experiment for Acne Studios . In 1997, the year the brand debuted, the creative director created 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching which were later given as gifts to friends and family. The international success of Acne Studios denim comes when the first Acne Studios jeans attracted the attention of the press, which made it become a wardrobe must-have. In 2017, the Bl&aring; Konst line entirely dedicated to denim (which means "Blue Art" in Swedish) was launched, a collection of ready-to-wear garments, jeans and women's and men's fashion accessories which is updated on a seasonal basis.

THE PASSION FOR COUNTERCULTURES

Acne Studios collections often draw on memories of Jonny Johansson including an interest in music , social phenomena and countercultures. From the folkloristic inspirations of Nordic traditions, to hippie, <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/fashion/hermes-mens-show-autumn-winter-2023-photos-videos-images-look" target="_blank" rel="noopener">punk</a> and rock influences. &laquo;I like the contrast between the austere authority of the uniform and the softness of those looking for another way of life&raquo; , said the creative on the occasion of the spring summer 2022 men's collection .

«I have the unexpressed desire to become a rock star». Jonny Johansson

THE HEADQUARTER: FLORAGATAN 13

Former home of the Czechoslovakian embassy in Stockholm, Floragatan 13 is a brutalist building built in 1970, now the headquarters of Acne Studios . &laquo;It reminds me a lot of a Scandinavian school, with exposed bricks and hyper-functional spaces, so I imagined a fashion school, that is, a dimension designed to help those who attend it to develop their creativity, to find courage, audacity and inspiration. Floragatan 13 today is a place to meet, talk, exchange ideas" Jonny Johansson told L'OFFICIEL Italia on the occasion of the inauguration of the space.

ACNE STUDIOS COLLABORATIONS WITH ARTISTS

In addition to the collaboration with Lanvin in 2008 (since the time under the creative direction of Alber Elbaz ), over the years the Swedish brand has started collaborations with artists with the aim of creating sensational fashion shows and fashion shows, involving them in the production of garments and accessories and in the creation of exhibitions and events. Analyzing the collaborations, important names emerge in the artistic panorama such as the artist Katerina Jebb , the painter Hilma af Klint , the photographer Jack Pierson , the designer Max Lamb , the artist Peter Schlesinge , the ceramist Per B. Sundberg , the set designer Shona Heath and artist Robbie Barrat to name a few. More recently Jonny Johansson wanted to celebrate the career of the artist Larry Stanton with a traveling exhibition in boutiques in Milan, Tokyo, Seoul and New York. "Acne Loves Larry SONON" is the capsule dedicated to the painter, video-artist, photographer, pupil of David Hockney, who died prematurely in 1984.

THE COLLABORATION WITH WILLIAM WEGMAN

Among the numerous collaborations that have marked the history of Acne Studios it is impossible not to mention the one with William Wegman, an American artist known for his photographic work carried out with his Weimaraner pedigree dogs . In addition to his photographic work, he was the director of New Order&#39;s &quot;Blue Monday&quot; video, and together with Jonny Johansson he started an indissoluble partnership that consolidated the brand&#39;s imagery. The success of his images depicting dogs in plastic poses - as if they were human beings protagonists of a lookbook - have become prints for ready-to-wear garments and accessories for the Swedish brand.

The history of Acne Studio and Jonny Johansson

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