Though it launched, ironically, having little to do with clothing, 11-year-old Acne has established itself as the go-to brand for fashion-forward denim and great basics. Never one to rest on his laurels, creative director Jonny Johansson is widening the label's...

Though it launched, ironically, having little to do with clothing, 11-year-old Acne has established itself as the go-to brand for fashion-forward denim and great basics. Never one to rest on his laurels, creative director Jonny Johansson is widening the label's purview with today's Copenhagen fashion week launch of a new high-end division called New Standard. Here's what he had to say about it.

How will the new collection function in relation to the Acne line?

For me it's a matter of different proposals in relation to the creative collective—it's about giving room to different ideas and concepts.


Acne is known for its wildly popular denim styles and cool basics. What items in your new collection do you hope will be coveted in the same way?

For this collection it's about menswear. It's about the coat, the shirt, and the pant as iconic men's pieces that we've elaborated on for women.


You design furniture and interiors in addition to clothing. Has this perspective influenced you in creating the new line?

I've always been into eclecticism in design. I like to take one element from one genre and one from another and tie them together.


What inspired the collection this season?

Menswear, bicycling in New York, cleanliness, and effortlessness.


If you could dress any celebrity, living or dead, who would it be?

[French model] Valentine Fillol Cordier. When I was in the process of conceptualizing this collection, I met her and she told me that all she wears is menswear. She wears it so well.—Romney Leader

Photo: Courtesy of Acne

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