By Jesse Scott
“Back to the office!” It’s a refrain likely to elicit groans, especially when we’re firmly ensconced in what is—at least on Instagram—the now-ubiquitous Euro summer. But Acne Studios’ Jonny Johansson has found a new interpretation of the term. Looking back to the “uniforms” of summers past and giving them contemporary twists for modern office wear, Johansson created a Spring/Summer 2027 menswear collection equal parts delightful and intellectual—one that might even have us plotting return-to-work outfits with the same enthusiasm we once brought to the first day of school.
What makes Johansson so special, particularly at a time when every collection seems to require a Grand Narrative, is that his designs are always first and foremost for people. “I have been studying people as far back as I can remember,” he told guests at this season’s presentation. “Growing up and sometimes feeling like an outsider among my friends, I realized that I was curious about unspoken hierarchies.” This season, that exploration of hierarchy led him to the office—and, more specifically, to the ways increasingly relaxed dress codes allow us to bring emblematic vintage looks into current workwear.
Denim and Leather Through the Decades
Unsurprisingly, denim and leather were centerpieces of the collection. Yet while both remained true to the brand’s DNA, they appeared in forms unlike anything Acne had shown before. Studded denim, for example, winked at the 1950s, while leather jackets added an urban edge to thrillingly subversive looks in place of the expected blazers.
Part of modernizing office wear, of course, is escaping the antiquated adage that men must wear only black, gray, or navy. This collection was resplendent with pops of pale pink, emerald green, and baby-blue argyle, worn in playful ensembles—for example, a tie and pink jacket over a denim shirt tucked into jeans—that proclaimed it’s okay to experiment sartorially at the office. At the center of it all, a mannequin lay intentionally prone, the epitome of calm amid a frenzied fashion week. It reflected my mental state upon realizing that the era of the daily black suit, white shirt, and tie is well behind us.
