There’s a weird form of schizophrenia playing out at Paris Fashion Week.
With global political tensions running high, the big cover-up is emerging as a key trend of the season, but then, so is naked dressing. “The end of the world is nigh, so let me hide under a yeti coat, or party like there’s no tomorrow” — or something to that effect.
The duality was on full display at Acne Studios, in a show the brand dubbed an “exercise in contrasts.”
Creative director Jonny Johansson wanted to explore his Nordic identity, with its intrinsic connection to nature, versus the fast-paced energy of city life, which he equated with women wielding their sexuality — à la ‘80s “Working Girl,” which seems to be having a revival.
The mohair bodysuit that opened the show captured the dichotomy: fuzzy and enveloping in front, butt cheeks catching a breeze in back.
There was a regressive quality to his cartoonishly large Nordic sweaters, felt boots that were like the rural cousins of Mschf’s viral Big Red Boot, and teddy bear coats inspired by the original Steiff toy, with shoulder constructions that echoed its jointed arms.
Johansson pulled out a worn teddy bear key chain from his pocket. “I’ve had it for a long, long time, and now it was time to do something with it,” he said.
Its matted surface was echoed in the irregular flocked finish on a jean jacket and pants, while stylized bears appeared as a print on a nude tea dress.
Once she comes to town, the Acne woman undergoes a transformation, trading her cozy knits for pantsuits with boxy oversize jackets, scarf dresses, or high-cut bodysuits, set off with slicked-back hair, flashy earrings and mirrored aviator shades.
Johansson said it wasn’t as contradictory as it might appear. There is some truth to those old stereotypes about Swedes and nudity, it turns out. “We are also, where I come from, quite hippie with that. It’s the nakedness that’s supposed to be natural,” he said.
The takeaway? The state of the world feels largely beyond our control. How we dress to meet the moment is our decision alone.
