ACNE STUDIOS SPRING SUMMER 2020 MEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK

A collection that captures the focal point of Acne Studios – experimentation and archetypes, combined and contrasted. “Acne Studios has always been a place of experimentation, on which we have built solid foundations. It made me think of a student at art school, using its traditions to push somewhere new,” says Jonny Johansson, creative director of Acne Studios.

What guides the eye and how we see has long fascinated artists and photographers, the way they use effects to suggest details, and what can or can’t be seen. This exploration of our visual field is at the heart of Acne Studios men’s for spring/summer 2020, as if the project of an art student. The resulting pieces, with details that appear and disappear, are worn as a student would put them together: with irreverence.

Every piece connects with the original spirit of Acne Studios – indeed, Acne stands for “Ambition to Create Novel Expressions”. This sense of experimentation is found in new fabric developments; inquisitive design; unexpected combinations and a playfulness with which the pieces are put together.

A transparent acetate coat has jacquard lining beneath, sometimes obscured, sometimes visible. Acetate lapels of a tailored jacket warp the light, while acetate ties cause a blur. A denim jacket in opaque wrinkled nylon has classic topstitch detailing only down the centre of the body, all details fading away to leave an open seam at the cuff.

Cotton nylon knit striped sweaters are a new fabric development with purposefully irregular pleating, as if long-stored then found. Woven coats and shorts have patches of yarn cut away to reveal the structure beneath. Shirts run throughout, from archetypal cuts to oversized granddad collar shirts with added functional pockets, and floral shirts that hang loose on the body.

Questions of visibility are everywhere: check pants are created from wide woven strips of fabric, revealing glimpses of flesh beneath. Buckles of coats are see-through casts, the memory of the original buckle left within them. The Manhattan sneaker evolves to a new lightweight performance style, with transparent sides and overdyed. Leather sandals are oversized, providing contrast.

Student satchels are trimmed with contrast colours, or turned into clutches and cross-body bags. Sunglasses have double lenses, as if a visual echo. Chain jewellery is created from pin heads, held by cable ties. Knitted bracelets and cuffs have threads that hang down trace over the hand.