Eye on Acne

Acne Jeans, at the top of the jean pool

In May, we exposed the Acne Jeans explosion in Stockholm, and we recently updated you on their collaboration with David & Martin to create a brilliant jewelry line as the label ascends into the ranks of our international favorites. The jeans? Look no further than the Max versions: it's the new Dior Homme. Now featuring an expanded collection of easy utility pieces and a new showroom, Acne is positioned to become as ubiquitous stateside as it is in Sweden. North American brand manger Fia Garvner tells us about the global business plan, competitors at stores such as Jeffrey and Barneys, and the line's full potential.

JCR: Stateside, Acne has yet to seize upon the denim craze, is this the quiet before an impending storm?

FG: Currently, in both the US and Canada, Acne Jeans have a few very dedicated retailers and customers that have been representing and buying the line since its market launch about five years ago. Today, we are experiencing a stronger demand, although I do not anticipate or wish for a storm. Rather, a long lasting heat wave that will bring more dedicated and enthusiastic Acne Jeans buyers and customers. If one wishes for a storm to arrive, it will soon be followed by a calmer period, in other words: you get your 15 seconds of fame. I would rather evacuate the storm if it arrives, to a safer shelter; keep the distribution of the line tight and its marketing niche-focused. Acne Jeans as a brand does not commit to any advertising agenda; hence, the only way to find out about the brand is through your own network of friends, reading about it in the press, or through the circulation of our own magazine, Acne Paper. Our main goal is to have our customer feel that when they get in contact with the brand, they should know they have in their hands something they found, not something that an ad or any other promotional tool told them to buy or seek out. Our customer becomes the person in the know: creative, and with a strong sense of individuality.

JCR: The label offers more than just denim; tell us about your total offering and the aim of the label in America?

FG: Acne Jeans unites innovative jeans styles with a versatile wardrobe for men and women, ranging from basic cotton T-shirts to tailored jackets to luxurious accessories and shoes. While every collection forms a concept, each piece can be worn separately and effortlessly be mixed with other brands. By designing simple, functional clothes Acne Jeans aims to create a modern framework for individuality.

The aim of the label in North America is to complement our jeans collection. What we offer is a lifestyle. Our wearer is creative and business-savvy and wants his or her clothes to reflect this. In other words, our main collection is designed to give energy to the wearer, not take energy. The clothes are tailored for finest details and high quality is always our main concern.

JCR: In some areas of fashion, minimalism is again in full swing. To the naked eye and off the body, Acne clothes seems plain (on the body, it's a whole other matter entirely), is the label feeling the intersection with a major trend?

FG: No, fashion trend factors never enter the mind of Johnny Johannson when he designs the Acne Jeans collection. Our offering in the collection are basics, tailored suit jackets, and a few creative pieces that will spice up the collection as a whole, direct it for the season. Minimalism is always an ingredient in the design process, so is sophistication and uniformality. These three pillars have always been ingredients and will remain; it is not a response to an overstated fashion trend, rather the ingredients of the Acne Jeans recipe.

JCR: You're selling to Opening Ceremony, which is bringing in Swedish designers next season to continue with their retail philosophy of pitting different nations against each other on the sales floor, what's your forecast for Swedish fashion exports?

FG: A few weeks ago I read a survey that was posted on the BBC's homepage. It was a survey of which country in the world is perceived as the most attractive. The five ingredients that the survey used to get its results were 1) political stability, 2) cultural exports, 3) equality between sexes, 4) environmental concern, and 5) perception of leading companies from that country. Sweden was placed on the top of that list.

Opening Ceremony, the United Nations of retailers, has been following Acne Jeans for a few seasons now. Their concept stems from the desire to tell a story about the country and the lines they chose to represent. A few seasons ago, this was not applicable to Swedish designers and labels. There wasn't any story to tell. Sweden, as the owners told me a few days ago, has finally reached the realm beyond its own clichés. Swedish music, artists, and companies have achieved a sense of respect, and in the press Sweden and Scandinavia as a whole is getting a lot of attention. In San Francisco next month there is a Swedish Design Expo, for example. In Washington, a Swedish Cultural Exchange Office is being built at this moment, in SoHo we will soon find a Swedish Design store as well. It's happening!

JCR: Which brands are Acne's competitors stateside?

FG: To differentiate ourselves from the other designer denim and sportswear players, we plan to push image and product. North American consumers are willing to spend more on clothing if they see a perceived value.

Acne Jeans continues to be pegged as an alternative to other medium and high priced denim companies that include Helmut Lang Jeans, APC, J. Lindeberg, Rogan, Blue Blood Brand, Paper Denim, Earnest Sewn, and G-Star.

JCR: The jeans are very expensive, why?

Tailored fits, made in Italy, import mark-ups, and positioning in the high-end jeans market are all factors that stand behind the price tag. Buying our jeans is not to buy a pair of fashion jeans that you will soon replace with the next new denim trend label. Buying a pair of Acne Jeans, you immediately join a niche, high-end fashion market. But an original one!

JCR: There's a certain androgyny, almost unisex feeling to the line, is that due to cultural implications?

FG: Absolutely!

Acne Jeans is known for having a slim silhouette and an appealing skinny look. In 1997, when Acne was founded, the desire was to create a perfect, unisex denim in a slim fit. This resulted in a cut called MIC that is still our most popular jean and is worn by both men and women, even though it has become part of our men's jean collection. Along the road Acne Jeans has diversified into designing cuts for men and women separately, but it is from and within the MIC fit that all other fits are born. For seven years now, we have been tailoring and perfecting these fits. It is here that we find the quality of our jeans. The skinny jeans trend has just started, although we have been in the arena for seven years, perfecting the fit into the last stitch. One proof of this is the waist design of the jeans: they have a higher rise in the back than in the front in order for the jeans not to pull down when you sit down.

Having a unisex fit in our collection is a great advantage. It helps communicate the brand philosophy: that we stand for equalization between men and women in our society. The Acne Jeans collection is always designed on a 50/50 male/female basis. Washes you find in the denim collection you find sometimes in the women's, and a sweater that you find in the men's collection you find in the women's but with a different cut.

One can almost see a trend in men buying items from women's collections and vice versa. I believe this appeal has to do with the fact that people in general are in need of a more individualized look, to be original, especially by composing your look with classics and then accessorizing it. To achieve this originality, searching among collections of the opposite sex can be both exciting and awarding, as you can find items no other person would have. The advantage to individuals interested in Acne Jeans is that they can really feel free to browse through both male and female collections without feeling too alienated. A man walking into Roberto Cavalli, for instance, would not feel quite at ease trying on their jeans in a highly designed atmosphere catering to upper-class women.

JCR: Is Acne the type of brand consumers wear as uniform? It certainly is ubiquitous in Sweden.

FG: It is, for sure, a lifestyle brand. Once you get into the brand you will find so many different ways of wearing our clothes that it certainly will appeal to you to stay focused within our product range: shoes, jeans, jackets, and blazers. When Johnny designs the collection, he has the uniform as one of the ingredients to the design machine, so it certainly communicates a uniform look. However, we always try to stay low key and we want our wearer to be able to create his or her own look. Our collection pieces are designed to be basics that you can wear with any other clothing you want. For example, our jeans are so clean, with no stitches or too much whiskering. Clean and simple but with a twist of originality.

Photos:
A selection of Acne Jeans images s/s '06