In 1996, Jonny Johansson and a collective known as ACNE (then an acronym for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expressions’) distributed 100 pairs of raw denim jeans – recognisable for their red top-stitching – to their community of creatives in Stockholm, Sweden. Thirty years on, Acne Studios, as it became known in 2006, has become Scandinavian fashion’s great success story, with outposts around the world and twice-yearly runway shows on the Paris Fashion Week schedule (Johansson continues to lead the brand as creative director).
A new issue of Acne Paper – itself in its 21st issue – marks this landmark with an ‘Autoportrait’ of the brand, conceived by founding editor-in-chief Thomas Persson alongside a group of international photographers, artists and writers, many of whom have worked with Acne Studios previously. Initially launched in 2005 as a biannual magazine (it would run until 2014, before being relaunched in 2021 in a new, book-like format), the pioneering publication shifted what an ‘in-house’ magazine could be – fiercely independent, Persson drafted the industry’s biggest names, from Jamie Hawkesworth to Paolo Roversi, to shoot its pages, with eclectic interviews encompassing subjects far outside of Acne Studios’ Stockholm bubble (each issue centres around a particular thematic prompt).
Acne Paper Issue 21: ‘Autoportrait’
Acne Paper’s 21st issue launches on 17 June 2026
It is why Persson calls Acne Studios Acne Paper’s ‘publisher’ – a nod to the independence from the brand he has in the role. ‘With Acne Paper, I have had creative freedom from day one,’ he tells Wallpaper*. ‘I think Jonny Johansson has always approached creativity as a conversation rather than a solitary act. It is not an autocratic process. For him, creation emerges through dialogue – between people, between creative disciplines, and between different ways of seeing the world. Once he has decided whom to work with, he leans into that dialogue and gives creative freedom. I have the same approach with the magazine.’
That said, in recognition of the landmark 30th anniversary, Persson says he thought it would be ‘interesting to turn our gaze towards Acne Studios for the first time’. ‘Historically, since we launched Acne Paper, the magazine has never been about the brand itself; rather, it became a cultural extension of the company,’ he elucidates. ‘Instead of simply looking back, we found it more exciting to reflect on the brand through an exploration of its creative identity as something alive, fluid, and continually reinventing itself. The idea of a self-portrait – or Autoportrait – seemed like a fitting title for the issue.’
For this self-portrait, Persson drafted a group of close collaborators of the brand – they might have photographed a previous campaign, for example – to channel their own vision of Acne Studios’ rebellious creative spirit (the brand is known for marrying a Scandinavian design sensibility with a bolder, countercultural impulse). These include ‘self-portrait’ stories by Jordan Hemingway, Guinevere van Seenus, Malick Bodian and Katerina Jebb, while photographer Casper Sejersen and stylist George Krakowiak have captured pieces from the Acne Studios archive. Interviews include friends of the brand – gallerist Sadie Coles, J Honey Dijon, designer Max Lamb, photographer Viviane Sassen, artist Robbie Barrat and actress Lena Endre.
‘For this particular issue, there were certain photographers we wanted to involve because of their history with Acne Studios, alongside others I had wanted to work with for some time,’ Persson says. ‘It was wonderful to have this combination of old and new friends participating. As a lover of history, two of my favourite pieces are Natasha Fraser’s fascinating history of the Palais-Royal in Paris – where Acne Studios opened its first store outside Scandinavia and which now houses the Acne Paper Gallery – and our interview with the distinguished Swedish actress Lena Endre about the playwright and painter August Strindberg.’
However, it is the cover image, taken by photographer Carlijn Jacobs and starring model Lulu Tenney, that Persson says encapsulates the mood of ‘Autoportrait’. ‘Carlijn had the brilliant idea of photographing Lulu as she danced with a paintbrush, almost becoming a paintbrush herself – in the spirit of Yves Klein, but in rainbow colours,’ he says. ‘Lulu is not wearing any fashion, and the images are a joyful expression of creative freedom, as well as a celebration of the synergy between art and fashion. In many ways, the image is symbolic of Acne Studios... with this issue we wanted [to represent its] creative identity as something alive, fluid, and continually reinventing itself.’
Acne Paper Issue 21 launches 17 June 2026 on acnestudios.com.