Acne Studios, known for always pushing boundaries, turns a rather unexpected plot twist this year by teaming up with British-Cypriot designer Hussein Chalayan for a new 12-piece collection that revisits some of his most iconic work from the early 2000s, giving it a contemporary makeover.
For those unfamiliar with Chalayan, his work has always gone far beyond just making clothes. We mean that. Throughout the 1990s to early 2000s, the designer was known for creating museum-worthy garments and challenging conventional ideologies around fashion, often using clothing as a metaphor to comment on topics such as cultural identity, and society as a whole.
Now, along with Acne Studio’s co-founder and creative director Jonny Johansson, those ideas are being rethought through the label’s signature denim, jersey and leather textiles.
“I have always found Hussein’s work to be incredible – he has had a gigantic impact on fashion, and I wanted to bring that back,” says Johansson.
Patchwork Camero Camera Bag
Taking some inspiration from Chalayan’s Ventriloquy (2001), Medea (2002) and Manifest Destiny (2003) collections, the capsule features patch-worked denim jeans in Acne’s eponymous 1996 and 2009 silhouettes, alongside wrapped python-print denim, asymmetrical vests, and with a reworked sought-after Camero bag in mishmashed leather, highlighting Chalayan’s experimental approach to one of the houses most iconic bag.
“I particularly enjoyed working with Jonny on the denim side of the collection,” notes Chalayan, who also gives credit with how much he enjoyed working with the younger Acne Studios team for bringing a fresh perspective to his earlier work.
