Happy 30th birthday, Acne Studios. The house celebrates by releasing its first seasonal collection of the year, and there couldn’t be any more callbacks and references to the brand’s evolving history. Did you know that the ‘Acne’ acronym stood for ‘Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises’? All we can say is: Geek Chic is now cool again.

While coded in nostalgia, the Acne Studios SS26 collection doesn’t dwell on the past; instead, it uses its elements to push silhouettes and pieces forward. Traditional clothing functions and eras of fashion intertwine, with silhouettes shifting between stretched and shrunken, elongated and oversized forms. The 70s are clearly the main inspiration for this season, more specifically, drawing inspiration from laidback collegiate kids of Ivy League’s past.  

This manifests in nerdy oversized Aviator eyewear, elongated collars on tight-fitting shirts, uses of silk and retro floral patterns, and the introduction of the new ‘1979’ slim-cut jeans. The ‘2010’ jeans get a seasonal twist:  a ‘mended’ version of the straight-leg cut. In a contrasting shift from the previous season’s focus on sartorial structure and refinement, this collection leans into a more spontaneous and unbothered attitude. Sportswear is introduced not through overt athletic references, but through subtle incorporations of its core elements — seen in stretchy collared shirts, tight tennis shorts, and garments that suggest ease and movement without aligning to any specific sport.

Classic Acne wardrobe archetypes: the biker jacket, the bomber, and now, the cowboy boot, come not without fabric innovation from the house, outdoing themselves every time. From latex-coated denim sets to 1:1 trompe l’oeil prints, and from shrunken to exaggerated leather ensembles, the Acne Studios SS26 collection’s focus lies in reworking familiar wardrobe codes through distortion, contrast, and texture. Bubblegum pink shorts meet round-toed suede boots, meet a sea blue latex set, meet silk scarves tied on the neck, meet a cranberry red leathered Camero bag. A collage of pieces that shouldn’t work together, but they do. 

One thing’s sure about this season of Acne Studios: while nerdy collegiate archetypes take centre stage, they still possess the aura of cool.

Once you are done with this story, click here to catch up with our June/July 2025 issue.