A pink-clad subverted wedding party serves as the backdrop for Acne Studios’ Spring/Summer 2023 Womenswear collection — guests are seated on beds draped in pink silk sheets, while shell-encrusted handmade candelabras are sprinkled throughout the runway, creating a hauntingly celebratory scene for the show to unfold. The show is eerily illuminated by a live performance from harp collective LEYA and V137 coverstar, Eartheater. In the spirit of celebrating their 10-year anniversary of showing in Paris, creative director of Acne Studios, Jonny Johansson, has chosen the pinnacle event of celebration to inspire the collection; a wedding. “There’s something cute, kitschy, sweet about weddings – but also something serious, tense, and vulnerable,” shares Johansson.

The motif of bows is seen throughout the collection, whether submerged behind a delicate layer of tulle or inflated into knotted bed sheets that compose an entire dress. This concept of layering is used throughout the garments, as traditional underpinnings are twisted into predominant fabrications. Ever-romantic roses are delicately placed on belts and as embellishments, while heart-shapes serve as the nucleus of dramatically ruched dresses. 

While romanticism is on full display, there is an air of tension that delightfully contorts the show. Johansson chose to take inspiration from all pieces of the puzzle that make up a wedding; from chandeliers, to wedding night bed sheets, to the attire of the characters that make up a wedding party. The soft pastels of the collection that might feel reminiscent of wedding-like hues are intensified by the contrast of deep reds, browns, and blacks. Delicate knits are stripped away and stretched into effortlessly sexy silhouettes with low-hung necklines. Ultra-sheer fabrics act as a point of divergence against metallic spike studded accessories and cracked hand-painted leather jackets. 

10 years ago, the Stockholm-based fashion house may have been known for great denim and smartly-crafted basics, whereas now, Johansson has transformed Acne Studios into a playground for experimentation. From eccentric fabrication to intensified hardware, sweet subversion is on full display as the house shows their fresh take on undone glamor.