Looking back can be complicated for a fashion brand, but for Acne Studios creative director Johnny Johansson, the Fall Winter 2026 collection was an opportunity to reflect on the the brand’s 30 years with a fresh perspective and hopeful point of view. “I have a library in my mind of things that I circle around,” said Johansson.
“It represents the different history moments, music references or cultural inspirations that feed the collective creation of the brand. Since 1996, many of my obsessions have shaped the world of Acne Studios, yet its heritage represents all of us, and we carry this forward.”
The collection embraced what makes Acne Studios the brand it is, revisiting signature pieces we all know and love. Leather and aviator jackets get freshly cropped in shades like baby blue and pink, while the classic 1996 cut jeans have been slimmed and tapered. There were plenty of preppy touches, a welcome return to form with knit sets, silk scarves, and tailored jackets, but with a edge, from the slung-over-the-body jackets, furry accented boots, and playfully long scarves. Staged to Portishead to channel a mood and a subtle nod to their counter-culture roots.
Johansson destabilized traditional patterns, shifting their scale, placement, and colour. There were hortensia motifs meant to resemble tapestry and abstract animal prints. Larger-than-life faces used on skirts and dresses were from Paul Kooiker‘s portrait series of art school studies, presented at Acne Paper Palais Royal last year.
While the collection tapped into polished codes, Johansson remixed this idea of it, in a fresh and unexpected way. Instead of exploring the past in a contrived way, Acne Studios made sure to keep their eyes on the road ahead.
Discover the collection below.
Photos courtesy of Acne Studios.