A bohemian circle of muses have been in heavy rotation for the last couple of seasons—Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and the like—but now it seems that things in fashion might be moving to a new musical beat. Acne Studios’ creative director Jonny Johansson is certainly keen on pressing the fast-forward button, and his latest collection vibrated with an energy that fell somewhere between ’80s electro and ’90s rave culture. Electric guitars made of chrome and plexiglass, which embellished the length of cropped trousers and boxy suiting, were the most obvious leitmotifs here. More convincing, though, were the eye-catching optical polka-dot prints that resembled the dilated pupils of euphoric ravers, on floor-length velvet and silk dresses that were fastened in the back with guitar-like straps—a cool take on the slip dressing trend.
If one were to peg the collection to a stylish musical icon in particular, it would likely be Grace Jones. The radical 67-year-old Jamaican singer just published her memoirs, and has been inspiring a new generation of fans with her risk-taking sorry-not-sorry sense of style. Jones recently caused a stir at the Afropunk Festival in New York wearing one of her many elaborate costumes (it involved little more than a corset G-string body suit, and a Hula-Hoop that she kept spinning around her lithe torso). The blazers-cum-minidresses that Johansson paired with short-as-you-dare hot pants and statement asymmetric shades were a look that Jones could pull off to this day, though it’s doubtful who else could, besides superstar bad gals like Rihanna perhaps, who has been making headlines with her pantless ensembles all summer long.
In some ways it felt as if part of the grounding street smart vibrations that first propelled Acne into the spotlight were lacking today; the cut and fit of their original oversized biker jackets and shearling coat is still hard to beat, after all. Still, warm-weather dressing isn't something that Nordic fashion folk have much time to experiment with. The discharge-print boy racer tees and charming checkerboard slip-on Moroccan slippers, on the other hand, are likely to be a hit with the first bloom of spring.
