Militaria hackneyed? Not at Acne. After spotting pieces of Swedish army surplus on the streets, Jonny Johansson looked back to the nine months he spent in military service as a youth. “Mostly I was freezing my arse off,” he said, “sleeping under snow in the forest.” While serving his country, Johansson was issued a uniform that dated from the 1940s. To this baseline influence was mixed pink, lavender, a graphic ribbon squiggle, and some decorative eyelet detailing that were all drawn from Västerbottensdräkten, the folk costume particular to the canton of Swedish Lapland in which the designer spent a decade of his childhood.
High-waisted, double-pleated tapered pants—quite formal—or patch-pocketed army pants were worn under reduced greatcoats, fitted micro peacoats, and maxi donkey jackets. A snap-front lavender suede shirt was layered beneath a padded gilet and above a long-skirted shirt in what looked like olive flannel or felt. A number of the shoes were most definitely felt—great fun, grafted loafer–sock hybrids. There was a bit of gray tailoring in nano-herringbone with distressed detail at its seams. Some of the color detail was lovely—if camouflage only at an extroverts’convention—like the teal leather pants that tanged against orange mohair socks.
