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This article has given me information of how the subversive sexy trend has been influential, what it means and what it is about. It also states a social media influencer on Tik Tok talking about the trend and what it will mean for our new basics cutting holes and showing parts of the body.

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2021 is the year of hope. With lockdown easing and us being out and about again, everyone is trying to get that Vitamin D. And this is why subversive basics are THE new micro-trend of 2021. Being partly naked highlights how skin-to-skin contact deprived we are. The beauty about this look is that it can be as subtle or as sultry as you like; a real spectrum on how to do it. On the (w)hole though, it's about the suggestion of skin and feeling empowered.

Subversive basics are tank tops, trousers and bodysuits and other fashion staples. The minimal but yet revealing garments tend to have asymmetrical cut-outs and most designers stick to neutral tones and simple fabrics. Cut-outs, keyholes and sheers are buzz words when shopping online for the style.

I first heard about the trend through TikTok influencer and Teen Vogue approved trend researcher Agustina Panzoni. She highlights smaller brands in her videos. "Fashion media started calling out cut-outs and sheers and deconstructed pieces. I had forecasted those earlier but also saw a narrative that united them. It's already on the runway and getting bigger! I see it for both spring-summer and winter," Panzoni analyses.

American-Venezuelan designer Clarissa Larrazabal has taken up this trend and deconstructed the bodysuit and transformed it into a subversive basic. The concept was very personal to her and she decided to deconstruct femininity. "I wanted to find a way to desexualise the female body but still empower the woman to the sounds like you can wear whatever you want, but you work for yourself," Larrazabal states. All of the fabrics are locally sourced from Venezuela, Larrazabal's home country.

The trend, however, is not just limited to women. Browsing through Grindr, I came across queer men embracing the trend. In contrast to Larrazabal's statement, this style seems to be more sexualised on the male body. I reached out to Zac Brind, womenswear student at LCF, on Grindr. His profile picture in a white Salt Murphy Cotton Tank stood out. He shared that he feels sexy when he wears his subversive tank-top, but it does make him self-conscious to wear it out. "A lot of straight people will stare, and I will feel uncomfortable. When I am around my friends, then obviously, I will be fine with that," he says.

This highlights how intimate this garment can be. You are showcasing parts of your body that normally don't see the light of day and this can be anxiety inducing. Women on the other hand, may be more used to the scrutiny of being judged for their fashion sense. Larrazabal aimed to create pieces that shield women from the male gaze and sexualisation. This contrast between utilising the garment as a tool of seduction and actively desexualising the body will create polarising opinions about this trend and eventually push it into the mainstream.

But take it easy and slowly ease your way into this trend. Try subversive basics with shoulder cut-outs first. This is also quite handy for easy access for your vaccine appointment. You want to wear an immeasurable outfit for this iconic moment of history. Once you have the confidence, show other parts of your body, the ones you never show off. Panzoni sums it up, "Wear subversive basics wherever you like." And if you feel adventurous, watch Muse's TikTok tutorial and try to create your own subversive basics!

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The rise of the subversive basic - Shift London

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2021 is the year of hope. With lockdown easing and us being out and about again, everyone is trying to get that Vitamin D. And this is why subversive basics are THE new micro-trend of 2021. Being partly naked highlights how skin-to-skin contact deprived we are.

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This article was particularly helpful of explaining the foundations of the trend, what the trend is, and what makes your clothes ‘Subversive sexy’, it was helpful in allowing me to examine the components and what may make the garment belong to that trend such as ‘cut holes’, tight silhouettes and possible revealing fabrics.

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This microtrend may not be so micro, because you've probably seen it everywhere. Subversive basics have been around for the last few seasons and will be spilling into the fall. It's a broad and varied trend, but you know it when you see it. Think: interesting cutouts, sheer fabrics, unconventional straps, and artful layering. It's a futuristic approach to the basics we all know and love, like tank tops, loungewear, lingerie, body-cons, and bodysuits, or really any outfit building blocks - but with a twist.

The term was coined by trend forecaster Augustina Panzoni on TikTok, who defined the trend as "basics that rebel up to the point of losing their utility."

Viewers in the comments expressed their relief to finally have a name for it, and one of them reads, "This is my favorite trend at the moment, it feels so architectural!"

This content is imported from TikTok. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Subversive basics may be an offshoot from "deconstructed" fashion trends, where the construction of even the simplest garment is reimagined for an elevated look. These spiderweb-like layers and sensual slits in soft fabrics embrace comfortability while still appearing fashion-forward, a consumer desire that's been dictating much of ready-to-wear since the pandemic.

"After such a destabilizing year, it makes sense that our wardrobe's foundations are getting challenged too!" wrote Panzoni.

Subversive basics are body conscious in a modern way, and they evoke a look that's understatedly sexy. Items made of mesh and stocking are influenced by lingerie styles, revealing layered bras, thongs, and corsets, forwarding the trend of tasteful visible underwear.

Casey Cadwaller's Mugler has come to be known for the use sheer fabrics to contour the body, through careful positive and negative space, and his graphic neckline cut outs and asymmetrical strapping has been present in much of this summer's crop top trends.

With subversive basics, whimsical straps, and strategic cutouts accentuating the body in new ways, rising designer Karoline Vitto uses the curves and folds of the female body as the core element of her designs.

Her garments made of jersey are sculptural yet comfortable, drawing attention to areas that are often concealed by fabric, and prioritizes the silhouette of the body over the garment itself.

Other designers like KNWLS, Ottolinger, and ISABOULDER play with layering stockings, prints, knits, and lazer cutouts, showing skin where necessary, to create new texture.

A lot of these minimal, grunge-chic fabric details and techniques walked the runway throughout the 1990s, which makes sense given the usual 20-years trend rule. Flip through the roots of the style below.

It's a look anyone can pull off, and if you want to partake in a sustainable way, the deconstructed nature of the style offers an opportunity to upcycle old stockings or fabric scraps into an intricate top or bodysuit. Or it may inspire new ways to layer items you already own, whether by cutting holes and slits or shifting their symmetry. Not so basic after all.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

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This microtrend may not be so micro, because you've probably seen it everywhere. Subversive basics have been around for the last few seasons and will be spilling into the fall. It's a broad and varied trend, but you know it when you see it. Think: interesting cutouts, sheer fabrics, unconventional straps, and artful layering.

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In order to choose a trend suitable for my brand I has to understand My brands garments and the possible trends that would as such suit the aesthetic, I had a look at Acne Studios S/S 22 I picked out some trends that I believe they have used, subversive sexy seemed the most appropriate.

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In a loft walled with exposed brick, rough concrete, and staged monolithic mirrors, a plush fabric-draped runway juts through the room. Jonny Johansson's Acne Studios presents a modernly delicate and chic Spring/Summer 2022 collection for Paris Fashion Week.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Opening the show, Acne staple, leather shorts pair with a sheer tie front long sleeve printed in a subtle baroque-esque pattern. Both the leather and sheer elements continue down the runway taking different forms in dusty grays, yellowy browns, and rich neutrals. The structure of the hide, in stitched two-tone pants and cream mini skirts, juxtaposes the flowing see through chiffon, in slip dresses and matching bonnets.

This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Floral-embossed corsets mix in over one-piece monotone ensembles, following western-inspired outwear. Belt buckles find new uses around collars and as straps to leather tank tops. Modern takes on knit come in sets. A particular sky blue cardigan buttoned up with a matching skirt and chain-like belt resemble a Gen Z take on a classic Chanel tweed suit. Pops of yellow, blue, maroon, and green swim in an ocean of an organic neutrals.

Attention to detail allows the pieces to feel refined. Dresses highlight boning with sheer fabric. Tiny bows scatter over the entirety of a co-ord or add an element at the hem of skirt. Knit garments lean deconstructive with simulated pulls. The collection propels recent trends, from corseting to subversive basics while also incorporating elements of crochet and platform shoes.
View every look from Acne Studios Spring/Summer 2022 below.

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In a loft walled with exposed brick, rough concrete, and staged monolithic mirrors, a plush fabric-draped runway juts through the room. Jonny Johansson's Acne Studios presents a modernly delicate and chic Spring/Summer 2022 collection for Paris Fashion Week. This content is imported from YouTube.

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[The shift in cultural perspectives] is affecting the way we express ourselves through clothing, and subversive basics are an early indicator of this change' This links to why its an appropriate trend after such an daunting year, from our pandemic to embracing sexuality, freedom and going against societies rules of what maybe appropriate- this is a celebration of our bodies.

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You may feel like the winds of fashion are changing direction. In contrast to the minimalist era in which the industry has long resided, the trends from this past spring and summer became more experimental and - well, to put it simply - titillating. Skin-baring cutouts and sheer stretches of fabric - some subtle, others not - were integrated into traditional everyday wear. Neutral tank tops, LBDs, and other items typically thought of as wardrobe basics became subversive and innovative. It's indisputable; fashion is in the midst of a revolution.

But what does this shift in aesthetics mean? What does the rise of unconventional fashion staples - like bodysuits reminiscent of Swiss cheese and transparent, nipple-revealing tanks - represent? Agus Panzoni, a trend forecaster and fashion consultant, has a theory.

Panzoni first coined the phrase "subversive basics" in a TikTok from April 2021 where she describes how traditional staples are now "[rebelling] up to the point of losing their utility." These pieces are artistic and anti-utilitarian, meaning they're fashion purely for the sake of fashion. She points to how designers are using cutouts, sheer materials, keyholes, and elements of deconstruction to render the initial function of the garment irrelevant. Your plain white tee becomes a see-through top with crisscrossing straps, no longer the easy-to-wear and reliable garment it once was. The resulting look feels evocative of the sultry, revealing designs of the '90s, and Panzoni shouts out Helmut Lang's work from the latter part of the decade, in particular. Ultimately, however, Panzoni says the subversive basics trend is a niche response to 2020's tumult.

"Lockdown helped us realign our priorities with our values. We began a very important conversation about mental health, and we treasured the time spent with ourselves, friends, and family (whether virtually or IRL)," Panzoni says. She also references how fashion became a tool of escapism during the pandemic. Trends like cottagecore, regencycore, summer camp-core - basically any "core" that helped the wearer transcend reality - boomed as people tried to cope with the year's uncertainty. The fashion consultant claims this was a major departure from previous trending aesthetics, which "[glorified] grind culture, minimalist outfits for the sake of productivity," and the streamlined look of a working '#GirlBoss.' She says this shift in fashion connects to how, during the pandemic, people grew accustomed to the individual agency that working from home allows for.

But now that a somewhat return to traditional life has ensued, not everyone wants to relinquish the control that comes with working from the comfort of their home. "As we go 'back to normal,' we realize we have changed," Panzoni says. According to a Microsoft study, 41% of people are reconsidering their jobs in favor of flexibility and travel. Panzoni links this change in work preferences to an ongoing cultural phenomenon where many are questioning longstanding societal structures. She explains: " 114 million jobs were lost last year, while the stock market ended 2020 at record highs. People are recognizing that the stock market does not signal economic strength. As the wealth gap widens and climate-led natural disasters exacerbate, [many] are questioning capitalism and suspect it's the culprit for most of our societal aches," claims Panzoni.

The trend analyst goes on to connect this growing sense of skepticism and distrust of traditional systems to the subversive basics trend. "After a year that pointed to the absurdities of the systems in place, it makes sense that our wardrobe foundations are getting challenged, too. [The shift in cultural perspectives] is affecting the way we express ourselves through clothing, and subversive basics are an early indicator of this change," she concludes.

For Brooklyn-based fashion designer Kingsley Gbadegesin, last year's historic fight for racial equality was the kindling needed to launch his eponymous basics brand, K.NGSLEY. "I started [my brand] in the thick of the BLM movement. My identity and who I am as a person were under attack, and it was the fire that fueled me to start K.NGSLEY," describes Gbadegesin. The designer draws from his time at high-end fashion houses like Versace and Celine, as well as his work with the grassroots organization On the Ground, to "reclaim and redefine the Black, queer, femme body" through clothing. In particular, Gbadegesin focuses on tank tops.

Tank tops have a long history of being a masculinized fashion staple. First introduced by sock company Cooper's Inc in 1935 as the working man's undergarment, the top eventually became synonymous with conventional masculinity. Cultural iconography (think Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire) and the horrific moniker 'wifebeater' cemented the shirt - specifically a white, ribbed tank top - as inherently macho. Eventually, however, the garment became a tool for rebelling against the gender role it so intensely symbolized. Starting with the look of 'Castro clones' from the '70s, the LGBTQIA+ community began to use the piece of clothing as a tongue-in-cheek jab at masculine performance, turning the symbol on its heteronormative head. As Gbadegesin illustrates, "tank tops [have become] a notably queer garment" with enormous capabilities for social rebellion, and that's precisely what he pays homage to with his brand.

Gbadegesin integrates unconventional touches - asymmetry, cutouts, and open backs - to undermine the tank's heavily gendered history while simultaneously centering the experiences of queer folk. The Brooklyn-based designer says Black, queer, and femme people have had a predominant and leading influence on today's trends, and yet they are the ones who've been ostracized and pushed away to the margins.

For one example of many that point to how Black people and the LGBTQ community are often unrecognized for their cultural impact, look to the Y2K nostalgia that's consumed fashion as of late. Paris Hilton and her bubblegum pink velour tracksuits frequently pop up on mood boards dedicated to early-aughts style, while R&B icon Aaliyah - who pioneered It-girl trends like low-rise, baggy jeans and cutout tops - rarely makes an appearance. There's also Dapper Dan, the Harlem-based designer who helped catapult the heavily branded, logomania look into the mainstream and make it into the industry-wide trend it is today. Unfortunately, his accreditation often gets lost throughout history, too.

With K.NGSLEY, however, Gbadegesin hopes Black, queer, and femme people can take ownership of the culture they helped form and are systemically oppressed by. "Those are the people I know, and who I want telling their own stories and narratives," says Gbadegesin, and his clothing gives them the opportunities to take up their rightful space.

Similarly, Clarissa Larrazabal, a designer known for her bodysuits made of tangled sheer fabrics, uses the idea of a basic garment to challenge oppressive societal norms. "My work is based on the redefinition of femininity from a modern perspective," she explains. At the heart of her eponymous fashion brand is a newfound approach to sexy dressing, which Larrazabal has dubbed "intelligent sensuality." Larrazabal's work coincides with 2021's collective desire to head to the nearest party, bare some flesh, and let loose after spending a year inside, but her approach is artful and unexpected.

Larrazabal elaborates: "In the case of my latest collection, I was looking into sheer fabrics and overexposing the female body to a point where it was desexualized from the 'male gaze.' Circling cutouts, sharp edges, and translucent layering give way to a subtle new way of female sensuality," details the designer. Larrazabal credits the subversive basics trend for opening up opportunities to explore sensuality in a less sexualized lens. "A piece made of sheer fabrics and cutouts is no longer considered vulgar, but rather subversive," offers Larrazabal.

Panzoni expands upon fashion's newfound promiscuity by linking it to a forward-thinking, cultural shift that was also brought on by the pandemic. "The futuristic undertones of subversive basics speak to last year's need for escapism and our move towards increasingly virtual lifestyles." Here, the trend forecaster references the tech-focused perspective that's taking over the industry. You'll find this phenomenon visible in the rise of NFTs, virtual fashion shows, and digital avatars - all of which are becoming increasingly popular alternative options to in-person experiences. "In a virtual world, one can afford to wear a fully sheer bodysuit and photoshop out a nipple if necessary. IRL lifestyles are, unfortunately, not as permissive," muses Panzoni.

Conversely, while Panzoni says a pandemic-prompted escapist desire is integral to the trend, she claims subversive basics are grounded in reality because their unconventional designs give the wearer control. "What I love the most about this trend is that you can choose how disruptive you'd like to go: You can wear a sheer bodysuit by itself for a nude look, or you can combine it with other basics through layering to construct a more intricate (and modest) outfit," she shares. Additionally, Panzoni points out "the trend is extremely easy to DIY at home by obtaining materials and jump-starting a small collection yourself." On TikTok, users are creating their own subversive basics by taking a pair of scissors to pantyhose and wearing the hosiery as individualistic tops.

Coincidentally enough, the concept of giving both the wearer the agency to control the garment and any consumer the option to make the trend for themselves is subversive in its own way, too. Historically, abstract and high-fashion garments were reserved solely for exclusive runways and high-end spaces. Subversive basics, however, are accessible portals into an avant-garde world, reaffirming that fashion is no longer the elitist club it once was. The rebellious trend is a reminder that power - not only in terms of fashion but in greater society as well - is and always will be in the hands of the people.
We only include products that have been independently selected by TZR's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Uncertain and uneven recovery expected following unprecedented labour market crisis. ILO. (2021, January 25).

Work trend Index: Microsoft's latest research on the ways we work. Microsoft. (n.d.).

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A Plain White Tee Will No Longer Suffice - Welcome To Fashion's Subversive Revolution

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You may feel like the winds of fashion are changing direction. In contrast to the minimalist era in which the industry has long resided, the trends from this past spring and summer became more experimental and - well, to put it simply - titillating.

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Premier Vision- an amazing article going through sub genres of fabric that will be used for S/S22. I used this article to elect fabrics that will be used for my collection also seeing into the Eco green sustainable fabrics, Sustainability will be the core of the trend.

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A seductively winning Spring Summer 2022 - Première Vision

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This season, the desire to seduce is firmly rooted in a voracious hunger for creation and fantasy, for new connections and surprises, a heightening of emotion and intensity!

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This website was good as it gave me information and a timeline of the Acne studios brand- This includes all key dates from birth including collaboration or impressive designs.

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Acne Studios: What to Know About the Fashion Brand | Highsnobiety

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In 1997, ACNE co-founder and current Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johansson created 100 pairs of unisex raw denim jeans. The rest is history.

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https://www.vogue.com/article/acne-studio-jonny-johansson
Johhny Johannson, Acne Studios creative director, owner and designer- A small article giving factual information about the designer for me to use in the document.

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The denim business today is nearly as fast-paced as ready-to-wear. Boyfriends have been replaced by mom jeans. Printed denim? So 2012. And flares go in and out almost too often for even die-hard jeans lovers to keep track. Acne Studios is a label that survives and thrives not by rushing in to grab its share of the trend pie, but by staying true to the simple principle that it launched with back in 1997. The Swedish brand's denim philosophy is best summed up by founder Jonny Johansson: "I'm not into fancy stuff." For Johansson, cool anonymity is a virtue, and over time it's that very quality that has become Acne denim's signature. Johansson called in from his vacation in the Stockholm archipelago to talk about the company's origins, the competition, and where Acne is headed.

Acne Studios' entrance into the denim market has been told often enough that the story has made it onto the brand's Wikipedia page. Can you tell it again? Acne was built on the Warholian Factory idea. I thought it would be so cool to be a film director and a fashion designer and maybe a musician. We had these big round-table discussions: How do we enter the fashion thing? What the discussion came down to basically was that five-pocket jeans are the Coca-Cola of fashion. It was never about doing some new denim approach. That was never the idea. We had success with the first 100 pairs we gave to fans and friends and photographers we knew, and forced them to wear. It was a very good start but also a very shocking start. Everything happened really fast. We wanted to be a fashion brand, not just a denim brand, but we got placed in the denim box. It was a bit of a struggle to try to make people interested in the other stuff we wanted to do. We were scared to be this one-product project where you're hip for a certain moment because you have a new name.

In hindsight, how do you account for the quick success of Acne's jeans? Today if you enter the fashion denim space, it's a race that's much more complex. It's much more layered, it's much more about the finishing, about the weaving. At the time [Acne got into the business], it was just about your approach to fashion. It was about your attitude. Today, it's a super-big, complex industry where the race is much, much tighter. Your approach might be a good idea, but a good idea is not enough.

Talk about the "idea" behind Acne jeans. I'm very focused about the word generic. It's not really about the silhouette [for me]. You could say, "You should have a pair of '70s-cut, flared jeans today because the '70s [are trending]." Yes, that may be so, but I think it's more about the fabric and how to circle around it. I don't like what you call the stereotypes of fashion, which would be the flare, the super-skinny. I like a five-pocket [style], and I'm not too much into fancy stuff. And I don't like vintage. It has to be very straightforward for both men and women; I'm very [into the idea of] unisex.

But silhouette is so important to girls. I have a pair of high-waisted, straight-legged Acne jeans from eight years ago that I adored, but I can't wear them now. The fit isn't quite right. For women it's about finding something that will make you feel confident. It's about the body. That's what I find quite interesting with women and denim-it's about trying to present yourself in a good way. It's about pocket sizes and things like that. I think for women it is about being contemporary, but more so it's about being flattering. Women are not so conforming about what to wear, so I like women's fashion more for that respect.

Back to the fabric. Where do you source yours? I'm not too much into the whole selvedge Japanese denim phenomenon. I do like Japanese fabrics, but when it comes to heritage, re-creating a complete heritage never interested me. That has never been the core for me. We work with a factory, which we've worked with for many, many years. They do a plain denim that I really like, it's a twill denim. Another reason I love denim, it's also very sustainable, it's not a garment that you throw away every season. I envy sometimes friends who have one pair that they've had for a long time. I've always been into that.

Do you remember your first pair of jeans? I try to forget the first ones my mother forced me into in the '70s, but, yeah, I do remember the first pair I decided to have. It was a pair of Levi's 501s, a straightforward American import. I was 12, maybe 11. Everything else that was available [in Sweden] were copies of Levi's. It was Levi's or nothing, for me at least. Our parents were quite heavily influenced by American pop culture, and they channeled it down to us. When I discovered my own aesthetic in terms of design, I remember changing the 501s. I've done everything, from changing silhouettes to dyeing. But I still wanted 501s to play with.

Where do you stand on washing or not washing your jeans? Oh, I wash. My mother told me to take a shower every day.

When you look around, are there brands you think are doing interesting things in the denim sphere? I always like A.P.C. They've carved out this timeless zone. They're never really in and they're never really out, which I kind of like. And they sort of sprung up in the same period as we did. Not maybe in everything, but regarding the jeans, they're the brand I like.

As a Levi's fan from your earliest days, when you look at Levi's now, what do you think? Confused. It makes me confused. I'm sorry, that's the first word that comes to my mind. I think it's about scale. It's really a super-big machine that supplies everyone everything. That's difficult always.

Acne itself is now a global business. Are jeans tastes the same in New York versus Stockholm versus Tokyo? No, I think it's going more opposite, I think it's becoming more unified. I think it's maybe the World Wide Web. [ laughs] It's becoming so unified it's almost scary. [I compare it with] when you go out in Stockholm, [where] everyone looks the same. If one thing is right, everyone is on it, and if it's not right, no one's doing it anymore.

Is Acne's denim design team separate from its ready-to-wear team? It's always been a big challenge to make it one. The cycles in denim are not six months or four months or one month, or whatever it is [in ready-to-wear] now. Denim kind of has its own life. But our developer for denim is always in every meeting about what we're doing, how we're progressing, about the look or whatever it is. He's in the mix. That's very important.

How big a part of the brand is denim, and is it important to align the personality of the jeans and the ready-to-wear? Denim is 25 percent of our business, a figure that's been quite stable for the last five, seven years. It's never in, it's never out, that's the beauty of it. But the five-pocket jean is a classic thing, which is why it's so difficult for a fashion show. Because you want to stay in the realistic field, but you still want to try to do something [on the runway]. So you don't see much denim at Acne shows.

Acne stores are popping up everywhere now-on Paris' Left Bank, in downtown L.A. Where to next? We're opening in Hong Kong in September, a very small, little cute store. Our New York store is due for a rethink. We'd like more space, or else we'll have to split men's and women's.

What do you see as the future of denim? How important are technological innovations, in terms of stretch, say, to the Acne brand? We had success at the start because I developed a denim fabric with a supplier that had stretch. So I'm interested, but I've become more and more about the visual, less about the technical. I'm not smart enough. I'm so much about appearance and first impression. I think the technical aspects are very difficult. I'd rather like to be the Hermès of jeans than the North Face.

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Acne Studio's Jonny Johansson on Getting Out of the Denim Box

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The denim business today is nearly as fast-paced as ready-to-wear. Boyfriends have been replaced by mom jeans. Printed denim? So 2012. And flares go in and out almost too often for even die-hard jeans lovers to keep track.

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An article from the guardian informing the reader of 10 important key points about the brand directing to their brand identity.

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Up until 1996, the word "acne" wasn't very fashion. Since Acne - which actually stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions - began, though, the label otherwise known as a common skin disorder has become distinctly hip. Jonny Johansson, one of the founders and now global creative director, has said he liked the idea of "appropriating a difficult word" and making it cool. Messing with us, basically. Now, though, Johansson, a soft-spoken soul sporting a MA1 flying jacket and Acne jeans, is a little embarrassed. "I wish we hadn't called it that," he says. "People said it was a weird name, and I agree with them." The brand's official title now is Acne Studios.

The jeans

When Acne started with four guys and a lot of idealism, they had the equivalent of writer's block. "If you're doing a modern brand, where do you start?" says Johansson. Jeans worked because they were iconic: "You might as well try to do Coca-Cola or you're going about it the wrong way." The first designs were plain, straight-legged with distinctive red stitching. They made 100 pairs and gave them to "the creative kids" in Stockholm. Soon, editorials from Wallpaper* and French Vogue turned up. By the early noughties, Acne had officially blipped on to the fashion radar.

The city

Before Acne, the idea of Stockholm style probably stood for more in the world of interiors than fashion. The brand - the most internationally notable fashion label from Sweden bar H&M - has exported its home city's look of layers, sportswear details, prints, and a lot of black all over the world, reportedly making nearly £78m in the process last year. "If you're from Sweden, you grew up with Swedish design - it's in your DNA, functionality," says Johansson. "We're often mistaken for minimalists but we're very colourful and love nature."

The stores

Acne's Dover Street store. Photograph: PR company handout

You might think a brand such as Acne would open in London's hipster central, Dalston. But, if you're sensing a theme here, that's far too obvious. Instead, its new store opening next month is on Pelham Street in Brompton Cross - more the territory of yummy mummies than mom jeans. This preference for off-centre locations plays out across the world. Its first Paris store is in a converted garage that Schiller admits is "hard to find" while the Stockholm flagship is in the former bank where hostages were taken in 1973 and the phrase Stockholm Syndrome was coined.

The studio

Anyone after a spot of workplace envy should check out Acne's famous-in-fashion studio. A converted bank that dates back to the 16th century, it features an art nouveau frieze, labyrinthine rooms and a communal kitchen with birch benches, Barbara Hepworth-style sculptures and a worktop hewn out of green marble. And that's not even mentioning the population of this style utopia. A team lunch on the day the Guardian visits includes girls with purple hair, handsome men in modernist glasses and Hamish Bowles from American Vogue.

The pink

Acne likes nothing better than making something a bit wrong the height of cool. See its trademark pink, which covers all its shopping bags, merchandising and stationery. "I told Johnny we needed recognisable bags," says Mikael Schiller, the brand's executive chairman, who is wearing a typical Acne ensemble of classic brogues with a wrinkled mac. "He went full on. Now you see these butch guys walking around with pink bags everywhere."

The Pistol boot

Acne's Pistol ankle boot.

You know those ankle boots you have with the chunky heel and zips? You can thank Acne for those. Their version, the Pistol boot, which goes for around £380, has been copied by high-street stores everywhere and became a bestseller for the brand. Designed as "a mix of cowboy and motorcycle and riding boot," says Johansson, he believes its success is down to boring old practicality. "It's big in bad-weather places - Scandinavia, the UK," he says. "Girls are running around London in sandals in the middle of winter, so when you propose a rough and cool design, it's a success."

The collaborations

Ask Acne - a brand associated with off-duty-model style and slouchy, leggy people in general - who it would most like to collaborate with and you expect it to say an edgy new label you've never heard of. Wrong. "Rolex," says Johansson. This kind of cool contrariness is key to Acne. So far, the brand has worked with Snowdon, the 83-year-old British photographer, Candy, the Spanish magazine for transvestites, and Lanvin. "What connects them all is a certain kind of humour," says Johansson. "They have a quirkiness to them."

The chairs

Before working in fashion, Johansson dallied with furniture. He showed he still had the knack with a three-piece suite the brand brought out in 2010 - designed to "find the inheritance for Swedish design," he says. He did that by referencing the Nya Berlin couch made by Carl Malmsten in the 20s for the Swedish embassy in the German capital. In typical Acne style, though, they messed with it: putting the drawings into Illustrator and stretching them out. The result was a hybrid: long and skinny furniture perfect for fashion people.

The fans

Acne fans Rihanna, Alexa Chung and fashion blogger Elin Kling. Photograph: Getty Images

Acne doesn't court fashion's top 10% to wear its clothes, they do it anyway. Celebrities including Rihanna, Alexa Chung and front-row stalwart Yasmin Sewell are regularly photographed in them too, something lots of other brands would kill for - or certainly pay through the nose. This is not the Acne way. "We never paid anyone and we don't want to," says Johansson. "That doesn't mean we don't like celebrities wearing our clothing but that strategy is cold and hard and short-lived. Our brand is about product. If you start from there, everything else falls into place."

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Acne: 10 things you should know about the hot fashion brand

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Up until 1996, the word "acne" wasn't very fashion. Since Acne - which actually stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions - began, though, the label otherwise known as a common skin disorder has become distinctly hip. Jonny Johansson, one of the founders and now global creative director, has said he liked the idea of "appropriating a difficult word" and making it cool.

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In informative interview from the guardian pin pointing Johanssons life

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It's hard to determine exactly when everybody started dressing like Scandinavians, but we all do - even if we don't realise it. Don't believe me? Open your wardrobe. Thick, fisherman-style jumpers better suited for a trawler? White minimal trainers? No-nonsense outerwear and lots of black? That's your Scandinavian uniform right there: practical yet chic, warm yet hip. And given that half the high street we shop on - the Swedish H&M group includes Cos, Arket and & Other Stories, and then there's Monki and Weekday - is Scandinavian, it's now impossible to avoid.

The real question is who started it, and here the answer is simpler. Acne Studios, which launched in 1996, is arguably the ground zero of this Scandi colonisation although it has never been interested in this Nordic hegemony, and didn't foresee it would end in high street domination; you can't blame Marvin Gaye for Ed Sheeran. According to its founder and creative director, Jonny Johansson, the key to their success is climate. "We're popular in bad-weather places - like the UK," he says. Still, context is everything.

On the flight to Stockholm to interview Johansson, I'm reminded of two things that need clearing up before we get to the clothes. The first is the name, which our photographer queries as she points to a spot on her chin - it's actually an acronym for Ambition to Create Novel Expression, although six years ago the label became Acne Studios, possibly to outline the difference. The second is the beige-pink colour of Acne Studios' paper shopping bags, which became emblems for what is now known as "millennial pink" and have since become so cult, they sell on eBay for up to a tenner.

Johansson shrugs. "Do I feel responsible for starting something like millennial pink? The truth is, a few years ago, I was working late and I had a food wrapper next to my computer in that colour. I liked it, so we made the bags in it," he laughs. "I think it's lost all meaning."

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'The warmest coats you'll ever wear': Acne Studios collaboration with fellow cult Swedish label Fjällräven. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

And yet, if you join the dots, both the colour and brand point towards a certain type of hipsterism which has now gone mass. Acne Studios initially made its name with slim jeans. So did hipsters. Although as one Swedish friend frames it: "Acne is both our Burberry and our Topshop."

I've been invited to Sweden to view a collaboration with another hipster hangover, Fjällräven, the brand that makes the cutesy compact knapsacks beloved by the millennial-pink crowd. These days an audience with Johansson is so rare that if he invites you, you go whatever the reason. It's not that he's a hermit - at fashion week, a few months later, he amiably performs the usual backstage interviews - but he doesn't see the point in talking. "If I don't have anything to say, why the fuck do I do interviews?" His last interview, I discover, was "several years ago".

Over a glass of water, we view the collection: serious winter-wear, caps and bags, in clashing primary colours. "The coats are the warmest coats you'll ever wear," he says. He's right - while testing the jackets over 700 miles north of Stockholm, we have to take them off because we get too hot. "And with the bags, we all had them as kids and hated them, but now they're everywhere".

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The Acne Studio shopping bag, now a cult item. Photograph: Handout

We meet on a warm day in Norrmalmstorg, an upmarket part of Stockholm. Johansson, 48, is avuncular and handsome, and dressed in navy cords and a navy jacket. He talks in short, clipped sentences, smiles occasionally and employs long pauses.

Until he was 19, Johansson lived in Umeå, a town eight hours north of Stockholm. "Reindeer country," he says. He had a relatively creative upbringing. His father worked in education in the military, but also played guitar. His mother was an artist. Johansson leaned towards music, and spent his teenage years in post-punk bands, with some success: "Enough to make me think it could be a career". He still owns 60 guitars. Married with two sons, he now lives 10 minutes from the city, "on a piece of grass where my mother's grandfather grew up," built when Stockholm became overcrowded. It was, he says, "the socialist dream, although I'm more of a social democrat."

I never know what I'm going to do. I tend to sabotage things that do well

His influence within fashion has been building over the years. For one, he was early to the power of the influencer, with the brand initially making 100 pairs of jeans which they distributed among "creative kids" in Stockholm. Then there are the bestsellers, such as the Acne Studios Pistol boot, a black zip-up style which spawned a thousand copies. Acne Studios put us in straight jeans when the world was in bootcut.

But he wants to "move on from all that". It's not that Johansson is difficult to interview, he's just a little gnomic, and "not that interested in fashion". For one, he formed Acne as a collective, producing furniture, music and film - including the cult magazine, Acne Paper - with fashion more of an afterthought. They started out making drainpipe jeans: "Then I got bored, or lost confidence, I'm not sure." They decided to branch out. This was a time when fashion was hinged on the high end minimalism of Jil Sander, and when Scandi style meant Filippa K in neutrals and black. By contrast Acne, as it was then known, was less predictable, and more colourful. "I never know what I'm going to do. And if I do, I tend to sabotage things that do well." He now describes his designs as "maximalist minimalism".

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'Maximalist minimalism': Acne Studios, womenswear Autumn/Winter 2018. Photograph: Acne Studios

The fashion industry laps it up, even if Johansson remains more cautious. "I was supposed to have a coffee with Edward Enninful [editor in chief of British Vogue]. But I think he stood me up. Or the other way round." He was approached by Kanye West, too. "That was a funny experience. He said he wanted to work with us, and that was when Virgil [Abloh] was his assistant. It was the most awkward situation ever. Kanye was treating him like..." he pauses. What does he think about Abloh's appointment as artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton? "I don't dare to say anything. I like to do shows because it's fun but I don't like the event. I don't like the celebrity aspect of fashion. I have no desire to be a celebrity myself and to have to play a little part."

Fashion has always fetishised other nations, and for some time looking French (deliberately scruffy, more black) dominated the field. But in the past few years (having filled our homes with Ikea) the pull to actually look like our wry, cold, geographical cousins took over.

For some it began with 2011's TV drama The Killing, which launched a thousand Faroese jumpers, although fashion historians might offer up 2016 as its peak, the year hygge, a Danish word which translates as warm conviviality in a cold climate, exploded internationally.

Well documented, the Scandinavian way of being has become a valuable export. We read Scandinavia (from Swedish Stieg Larsson's Millennium series to Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård's existential six-part My Struggle) and we watch Scandinavia (from The Killing to Borderliner, disturbing thrillers described as "Scandi noir"). Our houses are full of Scandinavian furniture, not just from Ikea, but pricier places like Skandium and Made. The hygge economy grows ever stronger, although it's nigh on impossible to value a state of mind.

In the spring, rumours that Acne Studios was up for sale generated excited gossip - it's currently thought to make more than €200m a year. Turnover doubled between 2013 and 2016. Scandi style has now become so prevalent it's a wonder we use the word "Scandinavian" at all. We might as well call it style and leave it there. Even Topshop is in thrall, last year hiring David Hagglund, a Swede, as its creative director. The hippest labels on social media are Scandinavian - Ganni (Danish) and Eytys (Swedish) to name two. In the wake of hygge mania, a global taste for cinnamon buns is thought to have increased the price of cinnamon by 20%.

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Scandi style: Acne Studios, menswear Spring/Summer 2019. Photograph: Acne Studios

Just as it is impossible to talk about Scandinavian style without talking about The Killing, Johansson turns to Sweden's climate, and the impact it has not only on clothes, but mindset. "I love Stockholm from April to November, but the rest of the time, the darkness, it gets to you." For this reason, he travels half the year, something he calls "sun chasing". It's not that we're all depressed, he says, "but there is a problem". The flagship store, a former bank where a 1973 hostage crisis which coined the term Stockholm syndrome took place, is next to our hotel. With typically dark Nordic humour, I'm encouraged to visit not to view the clothes but to look at the safe where the hostages were kept.

Johansson describes his approach as multi-disciplinary, and himself as both "a creative" and "a golden retriever - if you like what I do then I become more positive about it."

He doesn't like fashion because he isn't interested in trends, preferring to design on a whim, a move which often baffles critics of his shows. In 2016, he did a line inspired by military-wear because he did military service. Another time, he started making lots of pink and purple pieces because he thought they were "awkward". A keen cold-water surfer, for the last few years he has mostly been inspired by surfwear, and spends his holidays in his summer house or following the heat. "Surfing is the only thing that interests me," he says, clicking on a series of YouTube clips of surfers. "It's all I really want to talk about. I certainly don't see myself working in fashion all my life."

Two years ago, around the time Scandinavian fashion emerged in the UK, I asked Kristian W Andersen, the creative director of the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, why we all want to dress like Scandinavians. "Our way of life is on the radar internationally," he told me. "We are not only successful in fashion but also in architecture, furniture and design. Many countries look to us when it comes to our values, our systems, and our successful work life. I think people are really buying into the tales."

Ida Petersson, the Swedish chief buyer of Browns, who studied the label as part of her degree, thinks the beauty of Acne Studios is that they distil the Scandi mindset: "In Sweden it is cold nine months of the year. They just make being cold cooler." I ask Johansson the same question and he looks baffled. "I just think it was a lucky, funny moment for us," he says. "We always tended to look to the UK for what was cool. It's just that now, you look at us."
The Acne Studios Fjällräven collection is available at acnestudios.com and 13 Dover Street This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information. , London W1 Topics

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Jonny Johansson: the designer who started millennial pink?

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It's hard to determine exactly when everybody started dressing like Scandinavians, but we all do - even if we don't realise it. Don't believe me? Open your wardrobe. Thick, fisherman-style jumpers better suited for a trawler? White minimal trainers? No-nonsense outerwear and lots of black?

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A google book noting Acnes Studios brand identity and the architecture of all the stores on a global scale, I used a quote referencing the personalisation of the brand.

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This book represents the voices of scholars, fashion designers, bloggers and artists, which speak to the pervasive nature of fashion in matters of politics, history, economics, sociology, religion, art and identity in the twenty-first century.

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This book represents the voices of scholars, fashion designers, bloggers and artists, which speak to the pervasive nature of fashion in matters of politics, history, economics, sociology, religion, art and identity in the twenty-first century.

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A bof article mentioning the brands income and sharings.

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Backstage at Acne Studios' Spring/Summer 2019 show | Source: InDigital

By Tamison O'Connor December 23, 2018 14:17

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Acne Studios has sold minority stakes to China-focused investment firm IDG Capital and Hong Kong-based I.T Group, ending almost a year of speculation that the brand would be acquired by a larger rival.

Acne, one of the earliest and most successful purveyors of the "Scandinavian cool" style that has since become popular across fashion and design, had held talks with potential buyers as far back as 2013, from French luxury conglomerate Kering to private equity firms. Earlier this year, the company was working with Goldman Sachs on a possible sale, at a valuation of up to €500 million ($570 million).

Instead, IDG and I.T Group will acquire stakes of 30.1 percent and 10.9 percent respectively, from Öresund, Creades and PAN Capital, Acne said in a statement Sunday. Founder Jonny Johansson and executive chairman Mikael Schiller will remain majority shareholders in the business.

When Acne began shopping itself around earlier this year, the M&A market for fashion and luxury was booming, powered by perceived growth opportunities and increasing market complexity that made it harder and harder for sub-scale players to compete without greater access to the capital - and expertise - that sophisticated and deep-pocketed strategic or private equity investors can bring to the table. Over the course of 2018, Dries Van Noten sold a majority stake to Spanish luxury group Puig for an undisclosed sum, and Missoni sold a 41.2 percent stake to FSI Mid-Market Growth Equity Fund in transaction worth €70 million. Most recently, Michael Kors acquired Versace for $2.1 billion.

But in recent months, the temperature of the market has changed. The ongoing trade spat between the US and China has fuelled economic uncertainty and raised questions about the future of luxury demand. Shares of publicly traded luxury brands have plummeted.

The Stockholm-based label, founded in 1996, launched as a niche denim brand and has since built a strong modern contemporary-luxury name, well known for its upscale ready-to-wear and a distinct Scandinavian vibe that is popular with streetwear-attuned millennials. While the brand has yet to develop a strong leather goods offering, its sneakers are gaining traction. Last year, it generated $221 million in sales revenue with Ebitda, a measure of operating profit, of $35 million. It has over 50 own-brand stores in 13 countries.

However, sales growth slowed at the brand last year, rising just 9 percent, the slowest pace in at least a decade, according to a Goldman Sachs presentation to potential buyers reviewed by BoF. The brand still generates 43 percent of its sales through a network of 600 wholesalers, a potential point of vulnerability in a world where direct-to-consumer fashion is stealing market share from department stores.

Acne's two new investors are likely to give the brand a leg up in Asia, already a key source of growth (Asia drove one-quarter of Acne's sales last year, second only to Europe, according to the Goldman presentation). I.T Group has served as Acne's Asian retail partner since the early 2000s. IDG Group, which has also invested in Farfetch and , specialises in expansion opportunities in China and the rest of Asia (10 of the firm's 13 offices are based in the Asia region).

"Acne Studios will greatly benefit from their extensive know-how within fashion and the rapidly evolving universe of online and offline retail," Schiller said in a statement.
Related Articles: What's Acne Studios Worth? Amidst Consolidation Wave, Acne Studios Could Fetch €500m

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Backstage at Acne Studios' Spring/Summer 2019 show | Source: InDigital By Tamison O'Connor December 23, 2018 14:17 STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Acne Studios has sold minority stakes to China-focused investment firm IDG Capital and Hong Kong-based I.T Group, ending almost a year of speculation that the brand would be acquired by a larger rival.

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An amazing Acne Studios report mentioning sustainability factors of the brand a long with ethics, economics and spending habits

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Financial information of yearly turnover in the u.k

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https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/mikael-schiller-on-acnes-unexpected-journey-acne-jeans-kering

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Mikael Schiller on Acne's Unexpected Journey

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As Acne opened its third London store, part of a wider global store rollout, BoF sat down with executive chairman Mikael Schiller to discuss the company's growth, the perils of private equity money and why he sees himself as a Caribbean fisherman.

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden - In a little over a year, Jonathan Hirschfeld and Max Schiller have managed to turn their fledgling Swedish sneaker brand, (pronounced '80s' and spelled with Ys in reference to Generation Y), into a growing cult sensation set to generate €2 million (about $2.5 million) in revenue in 2014. This is surprising, considering that, until very recently, Eytys made only one product: a unisex platform sneaker with a significantly thick rubber and cork sole and a minimal upper that looks like a ubiquitous deck shoe. This model, the "Mother," gleans its maternal name from its "mothership" status as the label's first foray into footwear.

Although Schiller and Hirschfeld can easily recall their first pair of sneakers - black suede Converse and navy suede shoes by DC, respectively - neither of them associates with what Schiller calls the "sneaker hype scene," a niche culture obsessed with rare Nike trainers and other limited-release shoes. Nor do they identify with the burgeoning market for luxury sneakers, which has seen Riccardo Tisci reinterpret Nike's Air Force 1, Maison Martin Margiela launch premium versions of a sneaker originally issued by the German army and create embroidered, chiffon-wrapped running shoes.

We like to talk about Generation Y and how we've grown up with MTV and the Internet.

Instead, Eytys seeks to fill a void for young men and women looking for a versatile, stylish shoe that over-delivers on quality and comfort at an affordable price. Schiller admits he's somewhat of a recovering eBay addict. He used to feverishly track down Converse and Vans shoes from the 1970s, when they had a more substantial sole. The Mother is Schiller's idea of a perfect shoe, something that he could buy and wear forever.

"What's great with sneakers is that when you find your favorite pair, you keep on coming back to them," he says. Though Schiller acknowledges that the shoes also align with current trends in fashion that veer towards looser fits and androgyny. "There's a way of power dressing and it's not masculine or feminine. Wearing bold proportions gives you a certain confidence, like the Mother with its thick white sole."

A lot of work went into perfecting the sole. While other companies build their rubber soles in layers, Schiller opted to use one rubber mold with air holes in different places to help with weight distribution. He added a cork footbed on top due to his love of Birkenstocks, but also to ensure maximum comfort.

Schiller attributes the unisex nature of the sneakers and Scandinavian fashion to Sweden's gender-egalitarian political climate. (Last year, the World Economic Forum ranked the country as the fourth most gender-equal in the world). "There's no reason why clothing or sneakers should be gender-specific," he says. One of the labels that interests him the most is Céline, which he finds very masculine. It intrigues him how a woman clad in the label looks extremely confident and sexy. "Instead of looking 'cute' and feminine, she looks powerful," comments the designer.

Childhood friends since they were 12 years old, Hirschfeld and Schiller ran their first business in their secondary school years at Stockholm's Östra Real in 2003. Schiller made sweatshirts and sweatpants with the school's logo on them. He says the sweatpants in particular were a hit among the "raunchy girls" at the school. "It was this trend with Juicy Couture at the time, we put the school name on the asses," says Schiller. Hirschfeld was the salesman. "His sense of business has been around for a long time."

The experience gave them a taste of the difficulties and workload involved in owning a brand - even a small one. Hirschfeld went to business school at the University of Stockholm, while Schiller began working at the first standalone store of then-burgeoning Swedish label Acne. Schiller's experience during the early days of Acne was an education in and of itself. He says working under creative director Jonny Johannson was "the best school in the world." Schiller eventually moved to Paris, where he helped build the foundation of the label's French operations.

Jonathan Hirschfeld left university early to pursue an investment banking career at Crédit Agricole. Meanwhile, Schiller's education at Acne continued and he found himself helping Jonny Johansson design the company's menswear line, where he honed his predilection for pared-down style. "If you work somewhere for a long time, the inspiration and the references become a part of your own aesthetic," he explains. But one of the biggest lessons he learnt was the need to balance creative expression with the demands of running a sustainable business. "Jonny always wanted to surprise people and always wants to do crazy things, but he didn't forget to always have a foot in the business," says Schiller. "They always used the tagline 'art/industry,' which meant to be able to do exciting, creative things, but always respect the business side. That's something that I took with me."

In 2012, Schiller decided to start Eytys on a whim. As he puts it: "The idea came and I quit a week after." The brand began as a partnership between him, Jonathan Hirschfeld and Charlie Hedin, Schiller's high school friend who also worked at Acne. However, Hedig left the start-up shortly after.

Eytys has no investors. Its seed capital came from Hirschfeld and Schiller themselves, who each put about 70,000 kr (about $10,000) of their own money into the business, supplemented by a loan of about 60,000 kr from a state-run lender. Most of the money went into producing samples and the first collection. "I think we planned it and in a good way," says Hirschfeld. "We're not big spenders. We tried to be as focused as possible in the beginning and we've taken that cost-effectiveness with us as we've grown."

Indeed, being smart with cash flow is perhaps one of the greatest secrets to the young brand's success. Eytys has also worked out a sustainable ordering system on the factory and consumer side.

Eytys launched in April 2013 with just 25 stockists. "We want to sell in stores that we like," says Hirschfeld. "So we approached the stores that we knew and liked and quite a few of them were keen on Eytys and supported us from the start." The inaugural season wasn't without hiccups, however, the biggest being when the cargo ship MOL Comfort, which was carrying their entire first collection, broke in half and sunk in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

"There were a couple of weeks where we didn't know if we were going to survive or not," Hirschfeld says of the incident. It also left Schiller equally nervous, so much that he actually took up smoking during the time. Thanks to insurance and the patience and support of their first stockists, Eytys was able to reproduce and successfully ship their first shoes.

The Autumn 2014 series did so well that by Spring 2014, Eytys had more than doubled its wholesale accounts to 60 stockists, including influential stores like Dover Street Market, Colette and . By Autumn 2015, that number will be 100. It's controlled growth, as Hirschfeld wants to first expand the volume of business they do with their existing stockists and, along with Schiller, vets every store on an individual basis before deciding whether or not their brand is a good fit for their shelves.

In August, Eytys opened its first store in Stockholm. Like the birthing of the label itself, it too was an impulsive decision, one that stemmed from finding an office space and having enough extra room to transform it into a standalone shop. "It was a good time for us to curate a physical space," says Hirschfeld. "We came so far with what we wanted to do brand-wise and aesthetic-wise, so we thought it'd be fun and interesting to do it."

Located on an unassuming block between two Bangladeshi restaurants in central Stockholm's Hötorget neighbourhood, the white-walled, marble-floored space is outfitted with set-in shelving and modern furniture designed in collaboration with cabinetmaker Axel Wannberg. Wannberg's portfolio notes that inspiration for the space includes 1980s post-modernists Shiro Kuramata and Ettore Sottsass and the colour palette of American painter Agnes Martin. Pottery from Jessica Hans, books from Konst-ig and a selection of gear by Swedish rapper and producer Yung Lean magnifies the eclectic vibe.

This culture of convergence - Sad Boys merchandise and vintage Swatch watches, skateboards and MTV - is how Eytys defines itself. "We like to talk about Generation Y and how we've grown up with MTV and the Internet and this has just given us a steady flow of information," says Schiller. The company's newest model, a padded, leather-lined high-top called the Odyssey, isn't just a reference to Stanley Kubrick, the Voyager 1 space probe or the continuation of the brand's own journey, but also late 1970s disco band Odyssey, best known for its 1977 hit single, "Native New Yorker."

In making the shoe, Schiller researched all the padded high-tops on the market and found them too busy. I've never been looking for the most crazy sneakers or the most wild things, I just wanted the most perfect, basic sneakers," he says. "We're always going to find ways to re-work the shoes and find interesting collaborations, but it's not on a regular basis." This season also saw the launch of new versions of the Mother and Odyssey sneakers with stark, black soles, for Eytys' fans whose personal style veers towards the darker end of the colour spectrum.

As Eytys has no investors - a fact that HIrschfeld is proud of - it affords them the freedom to do "what feels right." The top priority at the moment is building on their current market momentum, while establishing a plan for longevity. "This is something that we wanna do for a long time."

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden - In a little over a year, Jonathan Hirschfeld and Max Schiller have managed to turn their fledgling Swedish sneaker brand, (pronounced '80s' and spelled with Ys in reference to Generation Y), into a growing cult sensation set to generate €2 million (about $2.5 million) in revenue in 2014.

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By Hannah Crump andSarah Kent October 9, 2019 05:20

LONDON, United Kingdom - Over the course of the last decade, Nicolaj and Ditte Reffstrup have built Ganni from a small Danish cashmere label into a cult favourite with a knack for churning out viral designs.

But the couple's ambitions run deeper. From the moment they acquired Ganni in 2009, they set themselves the goal of building a global business, aiming for longevity and reach beyond their home market - something few brands ever achieve, let alone those based in niche markets outside established fashion capitals.

In the last two years they've hit major milestones, bringing on LVMH-linked private equity firm L Catterton as a majority shareholder in 2017, and hiring a new and experienced chief executive. Now, Ganni is poised for global expansion, launching stores in the UK and the US in 2019.

Underpinning the company's rise is a unique mix of culture, creativity and tech-savvy. A former buyer, Ditte's design aesthetic is highly commercial. Meanwhile, Nicolaj's background as a tech entrepreneur lent the company a fast-moving mentality alien to many fashion brands. For the last three years, Ganni's revenue grew at an average of 50 percent a year. Turnover is expected to surpass €70 million ($76.9 million) in 2019.

As the brand prepares to launch its first stores in the US, The Business of Fashion examines how Ganni went global, and what it will need to do to maintain and solidify its market position.

Click below to read the case study now.
Created exclusively for BoF Professional members, case studies explore the important challenges facing the industry today. Discover more case studies and reports from The Business of Fashion here.

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Case Study: How Ganni Turned a Local Label Into a Global Brand

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By Hannah Crump andSarah Kent October 9, 2019 05:20 LONDON, United Kingdom - Over the course of the last decade, Nicolaj and Ditte Reffstrup have built Ganni from a small Danish cashmere label into a cult favourite with a knack for churning out viral designs. But the couple's ambitions run deeper.

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https://directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/eytys

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Eytys - Sustainability Rating - Good On You

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This brand provides insufficient relevant information about how it reduces its impact on people, the planet and/or animals. You have a right to know how the products you buy affect the issues you care about.Eytis is rated ‘Not good enough’ based on information from our own research.Last Updated: Nov…

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Article used for my customer demographic pin point how sub genres/tribes of our society live, such as age, spending habits and interests.

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Living for the moment, Aspirant Tribes know the look, music and lifestyle they want - and will spend big in order to get it! Attuned to what's happening in Leading Edge circles, it's about keeping up with what's cool but without all the hard work of creating it themselves. These Tribes will be found in Student Unions across the UK, from UE to Loughborough.

Social butterflies, they are spending summer holidays hitting the festival circuit - from Bestival and Secret Garden Party in the UK to Croatia's Outlook and Serbia's Exit festival. Whether it's the latest pop-up, food truck, concept store, art gallery or nightclub, they want to be the one to have seen it first - and post it on social media. Experience seeking drives the Aspirant segment, and introducing the newest fashion and music to their friendship group motivates Tribe members.

From the ubiquitous gap year alpaca jumper, to the MacBook Pro, Ugg boots and Hershel backpack, Aspirant Tribes are big consumers with strong brand affiliations. Brands trying to crack the Aspirants need to work hard to prove their cool credentials. They need to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people - although appealing to them may be challenging, those who do are rewarded with surprising brand loyalty.

Trendies

Trendies are driven by beautiful things and beautiful people, Trendies love fashion and are always looking for the next big trend!

They're the biggest outwardly 'brand-me' Tribe - they're universally aspirational in fashion and music, both offline and online.The rise of Mainstream Brand Me behaviours and fast fashion means the Trendies are still going strong and are one of the biggest Tribes on the map in 2015. Their influence is if anything growing, as more and more Trendies lean towards vlogging and sharing their super-soft-focus, Instagrammable lives online - inspiring younger teens to live a perfect life.

Vloggers
Vloggers and Bloggers are at the heart of today's Tribal map - inspiring a whole generation how to live.
In 2012 Tumblr Kids joined the map - by 2015 Vloggers are one of the most familiar and famous Tribes in the UK. A catch-all Tribe to describe young people that are vlogging, blogging, tweeting and instagramming their lives, attitudes and values online; they aren't creating culture and new social norms (bar those with 1M+ followers!) but are having a huge impact on youth culture today.

New Casuals

New Casuals are football mad lads with a love of underground club music and understated fashion - but will move to the next thing once it becomes predictable...

Hypebeasts

Urban and Skater inspired, US-rooted breed of New Casual - who love Hip-Hop and electronic, niche knowledge, luxury sportswear and limited editions.

Hypebeasts are a new breed of New Casual/Hipster- obsessed with the aspirational Urban lifestyle and the brands that go with it. With a thriving online culture, key icon products and their own language (Bump, OG, Grail, Wavey...) they are thriving - but bitchy too!

New Casuals
The New Casuals are unchanged on the map - think twenty-something, understated lads that consciously maintained low-key style from Norse, APC and Folk.
Their hate of hype and broadcasting their lives makes them polar opposites to the Hypebeasts! While they share a love of music, festivals, fashion and footy - the Hypebeasts are all about niche language, products and 'getting in there first'.

Hipsters
It's been a long time coming - but the Hipsters are firmly out of the Leading Edge, and are getting younger by the year.
Poor Hipsters! Since 2012, they took over being the vilified Tribe from the Chavs - synonymous with being 'try hard' and vacuous at a Tribal level, but receiving derision from wider British culture too (even your dad knows what a Hipster is in 2015!).

As authenticity became a key tenet of youth culture and the Hipster look was disseminated to teens via Primark; the iconic skinny jeans, glasses and obsession with Bergheim made the Hipsters a stereotype and an insult for the original Hipsters (most of whom have now aged out of the Tribes model).

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Living for the moment, Aspirant Tribes know the look, music and lifestyle they want - and will spend big in order to get it! Attuned to what's happening in Leading Edge circles, it's about keeping...

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Ganni is a sustainable Danish fashion brand. Ganni itself indicates that it's not a sustainable brand, but that stems from the fact that it takes sustainability very seriously and sees many steps to improve. This is mainly reflected in workers' rights in the supply chain and transparency concerning the origin of materials.

Transparent about carbon footprint

The company measures and transparently communicates its carbon footprint. It aims to reduce its carbon emissions per kg of clothing by 30% by 2023 and wants to stop all cooperation with Tier 1 and 2 suppliers that use coal-fired energy by 2025. Besides that, the brand is currently working with a third party to compensate carbon emission generated by its production processes. It's actively reducing the use of plastics and making its packaging more sustainable. On top of that, Ganni is engaged in upcycling garments, accessories and deadstock fabrics to minimize its waste. It has launched a take-back program and a rental platform to extend the lifetime of its garments.

Ambitions for sustainable materials

Ganni uses a growing number of sustainable and innovative materials and is actively researching viable solutions to the industry's wastefulness. For example, it discovered that virgin leather emits a lot of CO2 and is now working on eliminating that from its collections. The brand uses GOTS organic or GRS recycled certified cotton, GRS certified recycled polyester, sustainable viscose fibers, recycled wool, recycled rubber and recycled leather. But at the moment, Ganni is not yet fully sustainable. Its aims to use 100% most sustainable cotton, viscose and polyester by 2023. Its wool is currently not fully certified by the Global Recycled Standard, but its goal is to certify 100% of its wool with GRS or GOTS by 2021. A number of Ganni's mills and manufacturers are certified with these quality marks, but that the brand itself is still in the process of becoming certified.

Getting a grip on its supply chain

The brand is actively working on the traceability and visibility of its supply chain. At the moment, there's not enough transparency but in cooperation with the Higg Index Ganni aims to achieve 100% supply chain traceability by 2022. The brand has currently mapped 43% of its stage 1 suppliers with the Higg Index.

Especially workers' rights can be improved a lot by doing more audits and by entering into a membership with, for example, the Fair Wear Foundation. Even though the brand itself says it isn't sustainable, it already does a lot of things well. That's why we can still recommend them as a sustainable alternative.

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Ganni is a sustainable Danish fashion brand. Ganni itself indicates that it's not a sustainable brand, but that stems from the fact that it takes sustainability very seriously and sees many steps to improve. This is mainly reflected in workers' rights in the supply chain and transparency concerning the origin of materials.

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What happens when you put together a boldness of personal style with the classics of fashion? And then add to it a dash of savvy business acumen. You get a Brand that becomes a Cult. Such is the potential exhibited by the Scandinavian fashion label Ganni. A little more than a decade ago, it was an outlet-based small brand that sold Cashmere sweaters. So what changed? Let's have a look at the key elements and marketing strategy that Ganni possessed which led it to become an iconoclast icon.

1) Know what your customer yearns for
Ditte Refstrupp was a fashion buyer before taking over as the head of Ganni. Just like Coco Chanel, she understood that classic fashion wear came with its own caveat - discomfort. Through her years of experience as a buyer, she knew what the modern girl needed. She needed a dress but without the obligation of wearing heels with it. And that's how the girl in the dress-wearing sneakers came to exist. And today sneakers are just the perfect thing to go with a skirt. She always had the Cool Scandinavian Girl in her mind before creating these pieces which have now disrupted some major fashion norms.

2) Know what the market yearns for
Another thing that Ditte had was a very clear understanding of where Ganni stood when it came to the consumer's buying range. It was created as a mid-range product and that is how she wanted to keep it. Most of the brands started pricing themselves in the premium range as soon as their products gained traction. Ditte, on the other hand, observed that this led to customer disappointment over time. So, she ensured that Ganni remained loyal to the price range it was created for - the affordable range. Also with this came the understanding of selectivity. The brand was aware that being mid-priced and over-exposed can so more harm to the brand than good. So, the brand has even cut down its outlets at times to avoid overexposure.

3) Adopt agile business operations
Nicolaj Refstrup, the other half of Ganni as well as Ditte, took over to the technical side of matters and ensured that the brand was tech-savvy and swift in its execution. Ganni works in agile teams for 4-5 members to find out fixes to problems that arise and deploy those fixes. This kind of iterative lean methodology has helped Ganni's collections be ahead of the curve when it comes to logistics and supply chain. Not only that, he used data to understand which piece of a given collection of the brand sell out faster. This data was then used to create repeat pieces on the same lines for the upcoming collections. Denmark. Copenhagen. Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup of the Ganni fashion label. 2019.

Nicolaj always had a vision for the company to be larger than Scandinavia and that's where he is taking it.

4) Make your brand a magnet for influencers
Call it the couple's own collective personality or the brand's individual one, but Ganni came into shape around the time of "influencer culture" and it leveraged this to the fullest. In fact, the landmark moment came in the brand's early days when Kate Bosworth and Helena Christensen, two models, posted a picture of Instagram wearing Ganni and creating the hashtag #GanniGirls. The hashtag was the beginning of a trend that eventually led to a cult following on social media. Till date, Nikolaj ensures that the brand is active in adopting new technologies and social media platforms which helps them maintain their presence and reach.

5) Have a personality
Both Ditte and Nicolaj have always been driven by a collective ethos of the brand - Sustainability. The brand has been calculating its carbon emissions and believes in creating clothing with the factor of 'Aesthetic Durability' - where they create pieces that customers love and which can last. When asked at a fashion event about their new edition of Ganni outlets which sell old collections, Nikolaj responded, "During the creative process by which you create your collection, you also produce a lot of styles that are never put to use like sales samples, prototypes, showpieces, stuff like that. Obviously, as we all know, at one point a collection loses relevance in stores and we need to find a new home for that. So we kind of created a new concept that is totally aligned with our brand DNA where we can present our discounted items."

Call it luck (if you want) or a well-curated selection of aesthetic and perfect marketing strategy put together, but Ganni has managed to prove to be in its own league. With now backing of the private equity group LVMH, the brand is poised to grow into an international giant with a legacy of learning that all beginning fashion labels must take note of.

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What you can learn from the success of Ganni to make your brand a Cult - ILFR

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What happens when you put together a boldness of personal style with the classics of fashion? And then add to it a dash of savvy business acumen. You get a Brand that becomes a Cult. Such is the potential exhibited by the Scandinavian fashion label Ganni.

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I have taken great inspiration from one of my favourite designers 'Knwls' key into bringing the subversive sexy trend to the catwalk, great mixture of colours, patterns and additional details to create sexy, appealing silhouettes and cut out details.

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Knwls Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show

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The complete Knwls Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear fashion show now on Vogue Runway.

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Designer Ottolinger : I have studies this designers catwalk looks using his S/S 22 fashion show for print, colour and the subversive sexy trend.

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After a series of digital fashion weeks, Ottolinger Creative Directors Cosima Gradient and Christa Bösch show their first collection back in person at Paris Fashion Week. Known for their fresh fashion takes, the Spring/Summer 2022 collection features the deconstructed silhouettes drawing on the ultra-popular subversive basics trend.

Neon green and baby blue garments head down the runway bookended by neutrals of white and black. Ottolinger's thematic element of cutaways and peek-a-boo moments feel reinvented utilized to show skin on the hips and thighs. Screen-printed imagery of ropes and florals adorn the ever-trendy mesh dresses. Rope like elements hang from dresses, shirts, skirts, and pants. Reworked denim find new silhouettes with single-sleeved jackets and pant legs wrapped in string to create a cinching effect on the calf.

The designs to implement a sense of childlike fun, not only with bright color and plaid patterns, but with shaping. Shoes are structured with curving plush elements and spider web inspired straps climbing the legs. Blazers of green and silver leather are paired with tiny short shorts. The final looks of the collection take the deconstruction seen throughout to a new level of abstract structure silhouettes, creating 3D elements to the garments.
View every look from Ottolinger Spring/Summer 2022 below.

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Every Look From Ottolinger Spring/Summer 2022

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After a series of digital fashion weeks, Ottolinger Creative Directors Cosima Gradient and Christa Bösch show their first collection back in person at Paris Fashion Week. Known for their fresh fashion takes, the Spring/Summer 2022 collection features the deconstructed silhouettes drawing on the ultra-popular subversive basics trend.

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Stella McCartneys fashion show was revealed absolute sex appeal, again revealing the desired trend, I was also very interested in the colours used throughout a long with the shapes and cut outs used.

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Stella McCartney Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show

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The complete Stella McCartney Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear fashion show now on Vogue Runway.

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WGSN fashion database has been the most references website used for my trend report, this includes images, trend forecasting and above all what it means for a trend to be subversive sexy.

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CACI’s Acorn is a powerful consumer classification that segments the UK population. By analysing demographic data, social factors, population and consumer behaviour, it provides information and understanding of different types of people.