Interview

PHOTO BY ALISON COOL

At his private presentation last week in Stockholm, ACNE founder and head designer Jonny Johansson took the stage and was overwhelmed by a sea of flowers and press. Unfazed, he enthusiastically led the group through his unconventional fashion show, Chet Baker softly singing behind him. One by one, the models walked into the center of the room, where their apparel was reviewed by Jonny. The season's theme was tragic tomboy Amelia Earhart for both the men's and women's collections—her touch evident in the strong silhouette, long scarves, oversized shearling jackets, earth tones, Hawaiian motifs, and explicit gear. On the men's side, the looks turned on a silk shirt and a flouncy hat.

In an adjacent room, ACNE showed a film made for the house by Andreas Larsson and the "Nya Berlin" furniture collection. It was  in one of these sofas that I had the opportunity to ask the designer a couple of questions.

MARIA ELENA GUERRA: Amelia Earhart's influence was quite visible in the collection. Why her, why now?

JONNY JOHANSSON: Every year we want to portray and bring out the essence of a strong creative woman, she can be dreamed up but in this case she is a real person. Amelia was a tomboy, so she lent herself as inspiration for the men's fall collection as well.

GUERRA: Did it have to do with the newly release biopic?

JOHANSSON: [LAUGHS] No, I haven't seen it yet. After we began work on the collection we heard about the movie, but it was a coincidence.

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PHOTOS BY KRISTIAN LOEVEBORG
COURTESY BERNS SALONGER

The Local Firm, founded in 2007 by Richard Hutchinson and Axel Nyhage, scored their Fall/Winter 2010 show with an exquisite orchestral version of Robert Miles' "Children" which transitioned with surprising ease into Lady Gaga's "Pokerface" (also orchestral). The garments for both men's and women's mixed leather with transparency; illusions of several layers were created in just one shirt and paired with thoughtful nudity. The main inspiration for this collection, according to the designers, was the "synergy" of combining relaxed 1990s sportswear with a business unifom. And more from the 90ss: Robert Rydberg, the prominent Swedish stylist, amplified the collection's warm chestnut colors with red streaks in the models' straight fairy-like hair.

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PHOTO BY ALISON COOL

Last night, Acne hosted a celebration coninciding with the conclusion of Stockholm Fashion Week. British performance artist Jimmy Woo took the stage twice during the course of the evening on an elevated platform in the middle of the large venue, Enskilda Galleriet. Acne founder and chief designer Jonny Johansson was spotted swaying and cheering next to the stage. SEE ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

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This season's Cheap Monday show was located on the outskirts of the city center out by the pier Frihamnen. But Cheap Monday is also Stockholm's reigning popular export (skinny jeans having integrated themselves into the public imagination, rather than fading from it), a tremendous  young crowd follows the brand and queues for a half-hour in the bitter cold to see the show. After seated guests had found their place and were properly attended to, the doors opened to the public and a hilarious crowd of 300 or more fashion-frenzied Stockholmers literally mobbed the space. Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love" kick-started the show.

This collection didn't neglect skinny jeans in a somber color palate of greys and blacks. On the women's side, these were complemented by mini-knit dresses in horizontal, even sparkly bands, or in zip-pullovers with nautical details. The men's side was even more basic, pairing the slightly more masculine men's skinny jeans with sweaters with assymmetric pockets. The designers seem to think the men's Scandinavian bone structure and Protestant distraction would make the trip  worthwhile

PHOTO COURTESY BERNS SALONGER AND KRISTIAN LOEVERBORG

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