Getting to Know Acne Studios: The Sweden-Based Brand Everyone Loves

Celebrating its 30th year in the fashion industry in 2026, Sweden-based fashion label Acne Studios has a journey that is nothing short of outstanding.

Starting from humble beginnings with an artistic endeavour in mind, founder and creative director Jonny Johansson has always aimed to create a label he can be proud of, encompassing not only fashion but other art forms as well. This is visible when you visit the brand’s stores, as no two interiors or designs are the same, especially their famous Paris headquarter that’s filled with gorgeous artworks.

The same ethos can also be found in its clothing designs. Inspired by Scandinavian minimalism, Acne Studios is best known for its avant-garde innovation and slight edge, aptly characterized by high-quality fabrics, unique silhouettes, playful graphics, and clever contrasts that create a contemporary, tailored, and playful aesthetic rooted in longevity and artistry.

With revenues between €300 million and €350 million as of 2024, the brand has come a long way and is definitely here to stay. Here’s everything you need to know about Acne Studios.

Sweden Pride, Artistic Pursuit

In 1996, Johansson founded Acne Studios with several other personnel in Stockholm, Sweden. Originally, the brand served as a multidisciplinary collective focused on graphic design, film, production, and advertising. The designer first did consultancies for showrooms, shoots, and record sleeves until he invested his own money focusing on their fashion line at the age of only 25.

Johansson first created 100 pairs of red-stitched jeans and gave them away to friends and family as an organic marketing strategy, and it worked, as French Vogue and Wallpaper magazines featured his denim jeans. After years of struggling with a mélange of subsidiaries, Johansson then put his focus on building a sole fashion label in 2006. The brand also launched Acne Paper, two years prior, a well-known biannual magazine founded that served as one of their strategic marketing tools, relying on organic growth.

However, it was not all fantasy and happy days, as the designer recalled challenging moments and low confidence in an interview with Vogue Magazine. After years of determination, Acne Studios grew and expanded with retail stores around the world, including Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Antwerp, Tokyo, and recently in China. The brand offers an alternative ready-to-wear for both men and women and has been a permanent fixture at Paris Fashion Week.

Did you know that the original brand name stands for “Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises,” but was later changed to “Ambition to Create Novel Expressions”?

Clean Designs, Rebel Motto

Inspired by his father’s eccentric fashion taste, Johansson has always been keen to push the envelope in terms of clothing and design from day one. 

“Back in the day, it was quite a pretentious field of work, quite closed, and we thought fashion was more playful and more about an exchange of thoughts, group work, and collaboration,” he told Dezeen Magazine last year.

Famously known for combining high-fashion with streetwear style, each piece from Acne Studios boasts exceptional tailoring and high-quality materials, but with a twist. From experimental cuts, oversized silhouettes, eclectic colours, and unique material contrasts that materialize in fashion staples like logo hoodies, graphic tees, knitwear, and stylish leather jackets, Johansson’s ability to be playful yet fashion-forward is exactly why fans love the brand.

However, a few of the brand’s fashion pieces stand out from the rest, such as Acne Studios’ checkered scarves, which are known for their oversized, fuzzy, fringed designs, often in bold checks or solid colours, featuring a prominent rectangular logo tag and made from soft wool, mohair, or cashmere.

Other items include the brand’s unique denim, an homage to its origins, often featured in a variety of sizes and shapes, combined with distinctive washes and sometimes trompe-l'œil effects. There is also Acne Studios’ Musubi bag with its signature knot, the 90s-inspired Bolina, and other leather shoulder bags and accessories.

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