You might remember 1996 for the Atlanta Olympic Games, or perhaps as the year the Spice Girls released Wannabe. Maybe you remember it for its blockbuster hits: Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, or the ever-infamous Trainspotting. If none of those ring a bell, I’m hoping the launch of Hotmail will.
Amid all of that, something else was happening in Stockholm. Jonny Johansson and three fellow founders started a creative collective called ACNE, short for Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises (later changed to Ambition to Create Novel Expressions). The collective focused on filmmaking, production, graphic design and marketing. Fashion, to begin with, was nowhere in the picture.
Then came 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching along the seams. Johansson handed them out to friends, family and creatives across Stockholm’s cultural scene, making sure they were worn out in the world. It was far from a typical launch, but the beginning of what would eventually break away from the collective and, in 2006, become the standalone house we know today as Acne Studios.