Acne Studios marks 30th anniversary with new campaign by Nan Goldin

Acne Studios is marking its 30th anniversary with the launch of a new campaign that showcases the foundational material that it all started with: denim.

Shot by American photographer Nan Goldin, marking the first collaboration between the two, the campaign showcases friends of the brand wearing current, archived, and re-edition denim styles across Acne Studios three decade history. 

“I have been inspired by Nan and her work for years. So, when we realized we had 30 years to celebrate, it felt like the right moment to ask her. I wanted an icon, but I also wanted something very intimate and personal. She does that. And with Denim, which is close to you, gritty, real, it made sense,” co-founder Jonny Johansson said in a statement.

“The subjects are people from our universe – individuals we have collaborated with, spoken to, or had some kind of exchange with over the years. I wanted friends, not models.” 

Creatives featured in the campaign include musician Ellie Rowsell, model and photographer Guinevere Van Seenus, artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase, photographer Jordan Hemingway, actor and musician Juliette Lewis, and artist Peter Schlesinger. Former collaborators of the brand, each model is said to have helped shape the brand over the years. 

“For me, denim represents history, childhood and freedom,” Jordan Hemingway said. A former campaign photographer for Acne Studios, he also hosted his exhibition ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ at the Acne Paper Palais Royal gallery in Paris. 

The new campaign coincides with the launch of the 30th-anniversary capsule collection of re-edition denim. Available in international Acne Studios stores and online, the collection includes the 1996, the latest slim, low-rise cut jeans, the 2009, a bootcut style inspired by the period’s iconic fits, and a denim jacket.

Founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1996 by a collective that included Jonny Johansson,  Acne Studios started out with 100 pairs of raw denim jeans that featured red stitching along the seams. 

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Originally known as Acne, short for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expressions’, Johansson and his collaborators gave the jeans to their artistic and creative friends. From there, the brand grew into the internationally renowned brand it is today, operating more than 65 independent stores globally.