ACNE STUDIOS

Acne studios are as understated as its clothes, while it sits quietly in the centre of Dover Street, Mayfair. The shop is only apparent once you have stumbled upon the several plant pots, and the black and white checked tiles, which pave the front entrance. The first thing you see upon entering is a beautiful cream-colored grand piano, which they use for live music on the weekend. This immediately intrigues you, making you want to explore.

The garments are displayed in a clean and understated way, which mirror the Swedish brands style. There is just the right amount of clothes on a rail so you can sift through them, but not too many that you become overwhelmed. The simple white washed walls, enables you to focus your attention to the contemporary clean cut tailoring, the beautiful quality of fabrics, and the stores signature unisex denim. The clothes are averagely priced between £200 and £2000, which seem modest for an established designer brand.

Shearling coat, barrel silhouette with leather hood

Brown leather wedge boots

Acne’s customer is someone who likes to be self-expressive but practical at the same time; they want luxury in a subtle and tasteful way. The Acne ethos is to create something that doesn’t try to dominate anything else, and every piece of the wardrobe should be effortlessly stylish. Jonny Johansson Acne’s creative director aims to create a “strong modern and considered statement”, with every piece.

The mannequins throughout the shop reflect the Acne ethos: stylish but wearable.

The particularly helpful staff, calming music, and Acne’s own wonky furniture, all help creating subtle personal touches to the store. On the top floor there is a miniature roof garden viewed through a picture window, which almost makes you forget you’re in the UK.

They have used the skinny, four storey former gallery to their advantage. The space feels just as much a contemporary gallery as a fashion destination and shop. The artfully places accessories and numerous works of art, reflects the stores contemporary image.

Interiors illustrator Jeremiah Goodman has recreated Jonny Johansson’s Stockholm office in a series of eight-foot murals. Helmut Lang’s freestanding wooden sculptures also add a lot of interest to the décor of the shop.

When established in 1996, by four creative, Acne’s ambitions was to create a lifestyle brand through desirable products. The foundations of Acne began when they found a gap in the market for unisex denim. Now the company has stores across nine countries, Dover Street is the first stand-alone Acne shop in the UK, which arrived July 2010.

Jeremiah Goodman's murals

Helmut Lang's sculptures

Acne studio’s Autumn/ Winter “Capsule” collection is a print collaboration with Daniel Silver. An artist who is known for his bold use of colour, and broad variety of cultural reference points. The prints have a hand-illustrated quality about them, which are overlaid each other to create something very textural and interesting. The fourth flour of Acne studios is a semi permanent exhibition by Daniel Silver, where his brightly colored sculptures are displayed on white plinths, and his textile prints are draped over the walls. Usually this space would be a second women’s ware floor. However I think this exhibition emphasizes the efforts that Acne studio’s go to, to create something unique for their clients shopping experience.

Beaded graphic t-shirt

Lambskin motocycle jacket
and printed skirts from "Capsule" collection.