Acne Studios approaches its Spring Summer 2026 menswear collection as an open study rather than a finished concept. The collection builds on past themes but steps away from perfectionism, favoring spontaneity over precision. This season imagines its central figure in motion, riding a scooter, pulling on clothes without pause, getting dressed with speed rather than calculation.
The clothing pulls from familiar styles but redirects them with humor and light contradiction. Sportswear runs throughout, but it’s recontextualized, used for no sport at all, or paired with tailoring that distorts formality. Vintage references provide the base: garments seem passed through different hands, across decades. Acne Studios leans into the idea of dressing with what’s available, whether stretched, shrunken, oversized, or oddly precise.
Silhouettes swing between extremes. Some pieces stretch toward elongation, others shrink into cropped shapes. Trousers carry the weight of joggers. Shorts cut off just above the necessary length. A boot-cut pant pulls influence from earlier decades, while the slim ‘1979’ jeans and updated straight-leg ‘2010’ models bring in nods to archival denim.
Texture and finish evolve with material. Leather sets present a clean kind of polish, while latex-coated denim adds a synthetic sheen and a stretch meant to contour the body. Jackets, the biker and bomber, alternate between crisp minimalism and graphic exaggeration. Print treatments vary: Japanese-inspired motifs meet trompe l’oeil techniques, revealing unexpected layers like retro florals beneath torn denim illusions.
The palette ranges from sun-faded tones to more vivid choices. Browns and beiges suggest a nod to traditional menswear, while shades like electric blue, soft yellow, and Acne Studios’ signature pink push things further. Fabrics move across categories, checked wools, silk knits, and classic plaids appear beside smooth leather and latex.
Accessories reinforce this collage-like energy. Aviator sunglasses reference 1970s frames, while logo caps introduce a rough-edged DIY feel. Footwear covers contrast in material and intent. Cowboy boots return as a now-regular fixture. Soft loafers take cues from driving shoes. Sandals made from cut and buckled leather strips suggest structure without stiffness. The Camero bag appears in new textures, scales, and constructions, adding variation to a known form.
Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johansson sees this season’s wardrobe as a way to keep questioning menswear’s inherited rules. “We keep exploring and rebuilding the emblematic codes of the menswear wardrobe,” he says. “This time, it’s with a geeky, quietly confident attitude that beats perfection by far.”
