WAITERS in double denim and a concrete surround – it could only really be the Acne show, a cult see on the LFW schedule which this season had up-scaled into a venue in which the designs could really be seen from every angle as a mirrored catwalk – on both floor and wall – took pride of place down the centre of the Old Sorting Office on New Oxford Street.
“Someone earlier had described the collection as being like kids taking things out of a dressing up box and I like that collage mentality. I don’t see myself as a modernist,” said Acne creative director Jonny Johansson post-show where he was joined by actress Clemency Poesy. “I loved it,” she enthused, pinpointing the star-punctured leather pieces to be her highlights. “It just reminded me of when I was young and used to put patches on everything.”
And so to the clothes. It was oversized and it was utilitarian as you would expect from Acne – after all this is a label whose heart lies in the wearable and thus the covetable. But this time there was something more feminine and even more decorative – the aforementioned star-punctured pieces which featured as tops and on skirts and prom dress silhouettes in bright coral pink or culotte-trousers in bright, bright orange and mustard.
“It was a harder take on the ice cream colours we’ve been seeing. It was techno with the wetsuit fabrics and more feminine,” said Vogue’s Tilly Macalister-Smith.
“The colours came from a family trip to Marrakesh – it’s a big fashion subject and I started to think about Sex and the City and how it could be playful but still felt like that Stockholm girl. It’s always a balance,” continued Johansson.
Beneath this tougher ice cream palette came capes of Harry Potter dimensions and skirts with a fishtail addition at the knee, kaftan-esque dress-cum-tops and layered blazer and shirt combinations.
It was full of the sorts of pieces that spell effortless and ease.
SEE THE ACNE SHOW ARCHIVE