Jonny Johansson has rather enjoyed lockdown. Spending it at his Swedish country house, he has found it a sort of pastoral escape from reality: “a dreamscape, fantasy situation,” he said. “It’s been quite an easy place to focus, a comforting world to be in.” It’s not been the experience of many over the past 12 months, but it was that envy-inducing sentiment that he chose to translate into his latest Acne Studios collection, which revolves around something likely more relatable to most: duvet dressing.
Distressed dressing gowns and fuzzy fabric pajamas, floral nightgowns and distended knits appropriated the cutesy fabrics that furnish his home, making for a collection which, in many ways, you wish debuted this time last year rather than (hopefully) in time for our collective emergence (although “it’s not ending yet,” he cheerily pointed out). But his brand regularly leans into a curated, vintage sensibility, and within the context of his audience’s desires, it maybe makes more sense. Thick knitted socks stuffed into stilettos are already a street style staple, and the new shoes he’d designed, with straps made to accommodate heavy layers, will facilitate its endurance; the artfully askew cuts of chunky cardigans or draped dresses offer inbuilt insouciance. Stripped back, some of the underlayers (notably a tie-dye, silken dress, or a button-down micro-floral ’90s number) were charming. It would have been nice to see some of them appear center stage.
Johansson explained he was also designing with the future in mind. His somewhat severe snapback to reality, which appeared toward the end of the collection, revolved around the weddings and funerals precluded by gathering restrictions—hence the monochromatics that followed a palette of well-washed pastels. It felt somewhat dystopian, gaping crochet and wader boots read more directly as apocalyptic than churchgoing attire, but a twisted lace version of a wedding dress or some black taffeta tailoring would certainly suit cocktail hour. This season, designers are grappling with the notion of a post-pandemic wardrobe, and nothing has yet been decided—although it feels unlikely that many people will want to extend a year spent in pajamas much longer than is strictly necessary. But who really knows how any of us will really feel when we finally get there? Maybe the arrival of this collection in stores will prove me wrong.
