By Hope Harding
Ambition to Create Novel Expression: Acne were founded in 1996 by Creative Director Jonny Johansson, they are a Swedish brand based in Stockholm. Acne originally started as part of the creative collective that focused on graphic design, film, production and advertising, it was only in 1997 when 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching that Johannson had made and given away, went crazy and the fashion side of the business took off. 2006 saw the brand leave the nest of ACNE and became Acne Studios when it separated from Acne Film, Acne Advertising and Acne Digital. Since launch, Acne Studios has grown into a global fashion house with stores in 14 countries including London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong. The name Acne stands for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expression’ and is very reflective of the brand’s ethos. As you can imagine, up until Acne Studios was created, the word “acne” wasn’t very fashionable. Since Acne’s popularity has rocketed, Acne otherwise known as a common skin disorder has become distinctly cool. Johansson has said he liked the idea of “appropriating a difficult word and making it cool”.
1997 Johannson made 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching and gave them to ‘cool kids’.
Industry Research
Marketing Research Competitors: Acne is a difficult company to decipher their competitors. The have a very different approach to many aspects of their brand, they do not conform to the same ‘rules’ as other fashion houses, which truly sets them apart from other companies. “It is nice to
be able to work without competition. That is why I like being based in Sweden, where really there are no large competitors, so we can work easily without comparison,” says Johannson. In terms of product, Acne are a high end company selling simple tailored clothing with an eye for being different. However, with these garments doesn’t come a hefty Martin Margiela tag but an affordable to high one. With prices ranging from £40 for a top to £3700 for a coat you know you’re getting quality garments for a reasonable price.
“Of course, the price, as well as the design, is what sets Acne apart from many of its contemporaries. While you will often find it sharing department-store floor space with Martin Margiela’s 6 line, Philip Lim, and Twenty8Twelve, Acne doesn’t share their prices: jeans start at £120, must-have dresses at £150, and classic jersey T-shirts at £40.”
Acne: A clear winner - Features - Fashion - The Independent . 2015.
[ONLINE]
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/
features/acne-a-clear-winner-783462.html.
“We knew as customers that if we liked something, we didn’t care if it was street wear, vintage or couture.” Johannson and his team recognise that as fashion evolves people are shoping more in a variety of places having everthing from primark and H&M to Acne and Margiela in their wardrobe. It is becoming less about the label and more about the style, value and/or quality.
My idea of the Acne girl lives and breaths adventure. She works in Human Resources at a company with an ethos to save the world, such as WWF, where she began straight from university expecting to save the world and now spends more time sharpening pencils and day dreaming about her next adventure. She has a boyfriend who she knows she will be with forever but sees no need for marriage, she has no children and doesn’t see them appearing in her near future although does imagine she will want them one day. She has many friends but her ideal day is spent roaming through forests or climbing mountains with her BF. My girl dresses how she lives, Simple and free, she loves the quality she gets with Acne and values fashion but doesn’t view herself fashionable. She is in her mid to late 20’s and will remain young at heart and free forever.
Brand Analysis - The 4 P’s Product Womenswear Coats & Jackets – Shoes – Jeans – Dresses – Knitwear – Tops – Blouses – Sweatshirts – Suit Jackets – Trousers – Shorts – Skirts – Accessories – Menswear Prints – Jewellery – Miniature Collection – Underwear. Menswear Outerwear – Jeans – Shirts – T-shirts – Knitwear – Sweatshirts – Suit Jackets – Trousers – Shorts – Shoes – Accessories – Miniature Collection – Underwear. Acne Paper. Clothes have a luxurious and soft feel, the colour stories in the shop at the moment consist of blues as the focal colour followed by blacks and greys. Their signature style seems to be an oversized yet tailored look with lots of layering. Their Sizes range from XXS – 6 to an XL – 16 but have mostly small, medium and large in store.
All images taken from the Acne website.
Price – Womenswear Coats & Jackets – £220 – £3700
Tops – £70 – £1500
Shoes – £280 – £950
Blouses – £150 – £490
Jeans – £150 – £300
Sweatshirts – £140 – £270
Dresses – £120 – £1350 Trousers – £110 – £1500 Shorts – £180 – £1350 Accessories – £70 – £80
Suit Jackets – £490 – £650 Knitwear – £200 – £550 Skirts – £120 – £1800 Miniature Collection – £55 – £110
Place Shops in Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. UK stores – Dover Street, London – Pelham Street, London – Harrods, London. Dover street – Walking into the Dover street store you first pass the window display staying true to Acne’s current promotion and then enter the clean somewhat gallery feel of the store, music playing in the background the staff leave you be but are helpful when asked.
Promotion Nestled on a street with Victoria Beckham and Jimmy Choo the Acne try to fit in with understated advertising for the brand, there were no over the top posters or directions to the sale. There was no information about the brand to take away, not even a look book to view in store. Acne’s packaging is very fitting, it too is understated with a kick, Pink bags embossed with ‘Acne Studios’ tied up with black handles, its the kind of bag you don’t want to throw away.
Communication Strategies “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.” This statement made by Johannson is the basis of Acne Studios, they are not as commercial and corporate as the other big fashion houses, everything they do is a message Acne are sending to their customer to reassure them that they have not sold out yet - and it’s very effective. In terms of advertising, Acne take a minimalist approach as you can imagine. They do not advertise externally, only internally, relying solely on word of mouth. Johannson began to realise that the same consumer who was able to afford expensive garments was not averse to amusing himself/herself with fun high-street labels. “We wanted to be a creative entity, an eclectic universe,” “We knew as customers that if we liked something, we didn’t care if it was street wear, vintage or couture.” Acne Paper is what sees the majority of Acne’s advertising, the biannual magazine
collaborates
with
other
artists
and
designers
to
create
collections, the paper has seen a denim line with Lanvin; a book with Lord Snowdon; three blouses created with Candy magazine, and more. None of these projects are announced through traditional advertising methods, the company consciously decides to promote the brand through Acne Paper. The Bags. Acne likes nothing better than being different. When it came to the packaging, executive chairman, Mikael Schiller left it to Johannson with a few words of advice “I told Johnny we needed recognisable bags,” says Schiller, “He went full on. Now you see these butch guys walking around with pink bags everywhere.”
“I told Johnny we needed recognisable bags,” “He went full on. Now you see these butch guys walking around with pink bags everywhere.” Executive chairman, Mikael Schiller
Acne Studios Presents the Underwear Memos
All underwear images taken from the Acne website.
The Underwear Campaign Acne Studio’s only real exploration of film was around 3 months ago. Titled Acne Studios Presents the Underwear Memos, it consists of 6 YouTube videos each individually titled and ranging on 11 to 32 seconds. These short films feature young skinny models dancing around in Acne’s very modest, and somewhat boring underwear. With bright orange, Blue and pink backgrounds, recorded answering machines play messages relating to the titles. You get real strange sense of the models leading double lives, leaving you confused as to what the brand is trying to show you about these characters. The fact that the only films Acne have posted on their YouTube are these 6 and a few catwalk shows is so reflective of their brand ethos. They don’t want to advertise! They pride themselves on a brand solely about the product and the view that if people like it they will tell other people and come back again. I think the fact that these videos only feature Acne Underwear, which is fairly unrecognisable in the videos, is almost a joke Acne are playing on fashion advertisements. They are poking fun at these high production films their competitors make to advertise when they are so successful with out advertising at all. When asked about celebrities pictured in their clothes Johannson says “We never paid anyone and we don’t want to, 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.”
Conclusion My conclusion of the acne brand? Well that is actually a somewhat difficult
one,
whilst
I
admire
and
respect
their
approach
to
exclusivity in their advertising I also believe that some more internal advertising would not harm that said exclusivity but build and encourage the brand and create something more than just a fashion label but a lifestyle. YouTube is becoming such an amazing FREE advertising place, as Vlogs of peoples personal lives become more and more popular I believe building Acne’s YouTube page will help the brand grow in a non commercial way to which the brand so obviously hate. I am going to create a short 30-60 second video which will let viewers indulge into the life of an acne girl. The themes in my video will primarily be water, with various scenes such as playing in the sea, snow and bath tub. Correlating with my idea of the Acne customer, believing she is a fun free spirited girl in love with nature, using water will really reflect this. View the video at https://hushtwenty.wordpress.com
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