DESIGNERS RESEARCH
NOS REDNA
HISHSA
WJ
FEATURING
ACNE
ST UDIOS
ACNE STUDIOS Acne Studios a fashion house based in Stockholm, founded by Jonny Johansson
SWEDISH DESIGN
in 1997, inspired by his love for architecture, art and photography. Acne stands for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expression’,
EXPERIMENTATION
Johansson wanted to “approach a difficult word” in a fashion aspect and make it “cool”. Acne now creates magazines, books and
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
exhibitions as well as the collections shown on the catwalk and in stores. The main store resides in an old town in Stockholm
TAILORING
such like the main headquarters, but they also have flagship stores in cities like London, New York and Los Angeles.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
INSPIRATION behind the brand
The customer base is both men and women ages 25-30, those who have more disposable income to invest in the brands garments. It is the "clothing of choice for the upwardly mobile creative class", Acne studios is definitely inspired by Scandinavian style and minimalism, however the brand is colourful and experimental with their fabric choices and decisions. The creative arts is also a main inspiration of the brand, taking designs one step further with juxtaposing patterns and fabrics. They recently made a "big change to their denim lineup". When the brand founded their main focus was denim and to reinvent this is sticking to their roots as well as moving forward to branch out to different customers, more stylish and 'cool' as apposed to their minimalist customer. Bla Kรถnst, will be a permanent collection for Acne, the designs will be more than the average jean with extra detail, it will have a more trend driven perspective. Overall Acne is a brand that Johansson states "has always been inspired by music, art and everything thats happening around him" with this it stays in touch with new happenings in the industry, making changes in order to stay different whilst continuing the well known Swedish aesthetic.
"PROGRESS IS SACRIFICE" - JONNY JOHANSSON
JW ANDERSON JW Anderson is a brand created by Johnathan William Anderson, a Northern
INNOVATIVE
Irish designer that established in 2008. It was this year he appeared at London Fashion Week, since then attracting
EXCITING
attention by his very elaborate style. He studied menswear at London College of Fashion whilst working as a window dresser for Prada. After support from the British Fashion
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED
Council in 2010 via funding, his debut collection earned him commercial success for the brand. Leading him to win
EMOTIONAL
emerging talent of the year award for ready to wear in 2012, the new establiishment award in 2013 and menswear designer of the year the year after.
SUBVERSIVE
INSPIRATION behind the brand
JW Anderson is said to be one of the most interesting designers of our times as he is innovative and exciting in his designs as well as occasionally alarming, causing talk throughout the industry. Not only is he pushing boundaries but the brand is blurring gender to create an "interpretation of masculinity and femininity", very current and starting to appear with other designers of this time. He works very emotionally creating thought provoking silhouettes which are created hence the masculine and feminine elements. The design influences and inspirations have always been true to the brand from the unique design and aesthetic of the brand itself or the influences from modern art and contemporary fashion. These make the brand as loved and relevant as it is today as original talent is continually important in the highly competitive fashion industry, JW Anderson reaches audience all over the globe from a prominent reputation in the US, Europe and Asian markets. JW Andersons idiosyncratic aesthetic has made him well known, enough to become the creative director of Loewe also, simultaneously working with both brands.
"THE MINUTE YOUR BRAND CAN BE PREDICTED YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM" -Â JW ANDERSON
ASHISH The Ashish label is famous for the sparkly and statement designs. Ashish Gupta was born in Delhi and studied fine art in india, he then moved to the UK to study a BA in design in Middlesex following on to a MA at Central Saint Martins in London.
DIVERSITY GENDER BLURRING POLITICAL
His designs were first shown at London Fashion Week in 2005, and went on to winning the new generation award three
COLOURFUL
times. Prior to this he planned to open a studio in Paris but was set back due to hi portfolio and cash being stolen. Thankfully
ECCENTRIC
after making clothing for his friends he was spotted by Yea Gun in 2001 who gave him his first order.
UNIQUE
INSPIRATION behind the brand
The latest collaboration from Ashish was with the high street chain River Island. The powerful slogan t-shirts were popular to gain a part of the brand without paying the designer price. The fusion of western and cultural influences makes the brand unique and evidently noticeable as Ashish. The mix of sportswear with glamour provides a new age, modern way of dressing, with garments for "lazy Sundays" and "the night before" in the Fall 2017 collection. Certainly turning heads and inspiring others. The mainline of clothing is stocked in stores such as Selfridges and Browns Focus. This makes the brand accessible to those shopping online and in a major luxury department store. Ashish has workshops in India where the most intricate embroidery designs are completed, taking the brand back to its' designers roots. Gupta proved "fashion can be fun without being frivolous". Overall the brand is very inspired and effected by the media, news and politics, for example the mood created by Brexit on the colourless Sring Summer 2018 collection. Gupta felt "angry, confused and sad" by this change to the UK and felt "unwelcomed". This influenced the dark mood of this collection for a normally colourful summerline.
"FASHION HAS TO PLAY A PART IN FIGHTING HATE" ASHISH GUPTA
BY KATIE HOPKINSÂ GLOBAL FASHION CULTURES