Fashion house Acne Studios unveiled its Spring Summer 2024 collection at the historic L’Observatoire de Paris during the ongoing Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday, September 27th. The show transported guests into a space of after-hours liberation, set within a soft-furnished lounge bathed in the glow of a deconstructed disco ball, exuding a magical anticipation. Austrian artist Lukas Gschwandtner’s soft furnishings and the electronic rhythms from Giant Swan set the ethereal mood.
SPRING SUMMER 2024 COLLECTIONS
The collection is a stirring ode to elevated industrial artifacts of dressing, inspired by British artist Katerina Jebb’s work “Physical Evidence of a Woman.” Scanned symbols of feminine dress codes like red stilettos, false eyelashes, and lady tights are brilliantly subverted and juxtaposed with an avant-garde rawness. Jonny Johansson, Acne Studios’ creative director, manifests his passion for denim and a construction site aesthetic to convey the beauty of the unfinished and the ongoing, aligning with the theme of a work in progress.
In a spectacular display, denim is transformed into artwork, cloaked in white paint and crackled clay-like treatments. The collection heralds a new era for denim, reimagined as mini-skirts and denim jackets. Leather, crinkled and moulded, clings to the body, paying a subtle homage to the robust denim industry. A play of weights is evident in the heavily plaster-treated pieces set against the backdrop of light, airy silks and delicate feathers. The color palette is a delicate dance of white and greys with cement tones, highlighted with splashes of vivid blue, green, and red, meeting the soft hues of pastels and purples.
Johansson’s pieces float and drape, sculptural yet slightly undone, with skirts seemingly levitating low on the waist, monochrome looks, and exaggerated elongated sleeves. This collection captures a feeling of speed and spontaneity, epitomized in garments like a bra attached to a t-shirt and patchworked sweaters transformed into a slit skirt. Katerina Jebb’s scanning technique immortalizes women’s essentials like hosiery, stilettos, and false eyelashes, which are transposed as prints on dresses and tops, blending traditional and contemporary expressions.
In a minimalistic touch, knee-high transparent socks pair with oversized futuristic sunglasses in silver and black. The collection spotlights the stiletto pump, an emblematic symbol and a central theme in Jebb’s artwork, juxtaposed with a studded glossy strappy wedge shoe for a touch of toughness.
The Acne Studios Spring Summer 2024 collection is a poetic fusion of the past and the present, traditional femininity and modern boldness, a timely exploration that mirrors the blurred lines and label-less era of today’s fashion landscape. The array of bags, from the Multipocket in bright glossy red, brushed icy blue, and shiny brown leather, to the dimple-shaped bowling bag and glossy structured studded bags, round off the collection, offering functionality with a fashionable edge.
