Acne Studios Women’s Fall/Winter 2020

“I wanted to create a future idea of the past, one that is free from references of what has happened before. There is a creative tension that I get from time, the pull of the past to push you forward,” says Jonny Johansson, Creative Director of Acne Studios.

An investigation into fabric and form, liberating archetypes from their past connotations. Rich fabrics are mistreated, as if faded by time, while grand garments are made for everyday, reflecting the individualistic attitude with which the pieces are worn.

It’s a way of dressing that plays with respectfulness without deference to history. Silhouettes are exaggerated, as if distorted by the distance of time, a wrongness in this future idea of the past.

Jacquards are treated as if they are washed denim, dishevelled tunic dress with a deeply frayed hem. Jacquard trousers have been bleached and hand-painted, skimming the leg before pooling over the foot.

Velvet is pushed to the limit across a series of pieces. A ruby red long-sleeve dress has slight volume in the sleeve and held at the waist; a burned orange velvet skirt is as if pushed to the side, while a velvet dress is an extreme of ruching.

A leather coat has been painted with a distorted Old Master painting, an image that feels recognisable and yet unknowable. This idea of warped old paintings has contributed to the colour palette throughout.

Tailoring is purposefully wrong, like a navy chalk single-button jacket that has exaggerated sleeves in thick black suiting material. Another tailored jacket has broad shoulders and a waist that’s cinched, while another tailored jacket is held by a stretch bandeau.

Nylon is pigment-printed white to create a billowing-sleeve shirt and ruched skirt, both like a blank canvas. An oversized shirt and strapless dress in paper add to the experimentation in fabric.

A velvet sleeveless dress is burnt out into patterns of decorative grandeur, the cloth bleached then twice hand-dyed. Portrait neckline dresses are boned inside for structure, yet their washed satin is draped freely.

Frame bags are decorated with fragments of picture frames, while velvet pouch bags have straps like sashes, almost becoming a garment in themselves. Perfectly flat leather bags echo the idea of a blank canvas.

Jewellery is as if found, like stone-set rings or oversized rope necklaces. Shoes have square-pointed toes, their leather gathered and held by the lacing.