BEHIND THE STITCH: ALANI
June 21, 2024
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The Acne Studios SS27 menswear collection shattered the rigid boundaries of traditional corporate dressing during Paris Fashion Week, completely redesigning the classic 9-to-5 uniform into a vibrant canvas for self-expression.
Moving far away from uninspired, monochromatic boardroom styling, creative director Jonny Johansson approached the corporate environment not as a place of restriction, but as a fascinating everyday social experiment.
The presentation delivered a brilliant, high-energy critique of corporate monotony, proving that professional wardrobe archetypes can be beautifully twisted, layered, and remixed.
By injecting nostalgic style references, clashing fabric textures, and striking neon accents into tailored essentials, the collection effortlessly captured the playful, rebellious spirit of contemporary youth culture.
The Office Playground: A Study in Corporate Subversion
The New Professional Silhouette: Plaid Boxers and Trompe L’oeil Ties
Heritage Denim and Radical Fabric Clashes
Eclectic Footwear and Statement Camero Bags
Paris Fashion Week Style Takeaways
To establish the mood for Acne Studios SS27, Johansson leaned directly into the natural tension that exists between personal identity and professional expectations.
Instead of seeing the workplace as a source of sartorial stiffness, the designer used it as an imaginative sandbox to explore unique office characters.
The collection operated on a philosophy of “push and pull,” where conservative tailoring was deliberately disrupted by eccentric details. The result was a beautifully harmonized runway lineup that felt less like an official corporate dress code and more like an authentic, style-conscious remix tailored for a new generation of creatives.
The styling throughout the Acne Studios SS27 lineup favored individual expression over traditional symmetry. Standard corporate pieces were disassembled and reassembled in experimental ways:
The Prep-Casual Clash: Relaxed, plaid boxer-style shorts were styled unexpectedly with structured, prep-inspired blazers and traditional leather brogues.
Neon Layering: Vibrant, neon-orange graphic t-shirts peeked out from underneath conservative, heavy cable-knit sweaters, adding a sharp jolt of color to classic winter-wear.
The Illusionist Executive: Playful trompe l’oeil (optical illusion) necktie t-shirts were layered beneath formal tailoring jackets and paired seamlessly with distressed skinny jeans.
By removing the literal layers of corporate formality, Acne Studios brought a sense of raw, poetic vulnerability to the runway.
Rooted deeply in the brand’s historic Stockholm beginnings, denim played a foundational role in the Acne Studios SS27narrative. The house brought back its signature archival 1996 and 1979 denim cuts, updating them with slimmer, modern silhouettes rendered in bold, unconventional colorways.
The collection also introduced innovative, hybrid pleated jeans that elegantly mimicked the draped look of 1980s office slacks. To heighten the visual contrast, heavily studded denim pieces—channeling 1950s rock’n’roll edge—were intentionally paired with mismatched preppy argyle motifs and lightweight, multi-layered reclaimed micro jerseys.
The accessories for Acne Studios SS27 offered a strong dose of subverted western charm to contrast the tailored office themes. Models walked the runway in dramatic, exaggerated cowboy boots crafted from ultra-soft matte leather or premium croc-embossed skins. Pointy Cuban-heeled ankle boots added a sleek, razor-sharp finish to the casual trouser silhouettes.
On the leather goods front, the standout piece was the evolution of the signature Camero bag. For the summer season, the bags arrived heavily adorned with tactile fringe detailing and finished in stunning, gradient hand-painted leathers that brought an artisanal touch to the experimental collection.
Ultimately, Acne Studios SS27 proved that dressing for the office doesn’t have to mean compromising your personal style identity. 
By viewing the corporate wardrobe as a playground for subversion, Jonny Johansson delivered an incredible, boundary-pushing statement on modern menswear that will heavily inspire street-style trends for the coming season.
