ACNE STUDIOS TURNS 30: NAN GOLDIN CAPTURES THE LIVES BEHIND THE DENIM

words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI

To celebrate Acne Studios' 30th anniversary, a new campaign captured through the lens of American photographer and activist Nan Goldin brings us closer to the creative family, and at its starting point: denim. Jonny Johansson, the co-founder and creative director of Acne Studios, refers to denim not only as the perfect canvas to live through, but also as the foundation of the fashion house. After all, back in 1996 in Stockholm, Acne Studios began with 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with the signature red stitching. Beyond denim, that same spirit, all-round creative expression, collaboration, and curiosity, has driven the house's evolution ever since.

all images courtesy of ACNE STUDIOS

Nan Goldin steps in to capture unguarded, intimate portraits of Acne Studios' community, wearing both current and archive denim styles spanning the last 30 years. Goldin has always photographed her subjects from the inside of their lives rather than the outside, close enough to catch not just how someone looks, but who they are becoming. In her hands, each portrait feels like it holds past, present, and future all at once.

Jonny Johansson did not want models for this campaign, he wanted friends, collaborators, people he had shared something with throughout the years. This way, the portraits and the denim could really embody the story they were meant to tell. Among the group: Ellie Rowsell, Guinevere Van Seenus, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jordan Hemingway, Juliette Lewis, Peter Schlesinger, Raya Martigny, Rila Fukushima, Sandra Poulson, and one mysterious friend still to be revealed.

The 30th-anniversary capsule, available internationally from September 3rd, includes the original 1996 style, the latest slim, low-rise fit, the 2009 bootcut drawn from that era's iconic silhouette, and a denim jacket.

At the heart of the campaign is a simple idea: denim doesn't just get worn, it gets shaped by the person wearing it. Thirty years in, the denim still remembers where it started.

TEAM CREDITS:
photography NAN GOLDIN
styling ROBBIE SPENCER
casting GK-LD PROJECTS
dop BENOÎT DELHOMME
interviews DURGA CHEW-BOSE
set design MATT JACKSON
hair JIMMY PAUL
make up CHRISTIAN FRITZENWANKER
production CROCKETT
artist management THE COLLECTIVE SHIFT
videos BENOÎT DELHOMME with NAN GOLDIN