Acne Paper – Issue 21: Autoportrait

Acne Paper continues to focus on culture in the broadest sense, exploring an eclectic variety of subjects through photography, fashion, art, literature.

Acne Paper was first launched as a biannual magazine that had a brief but remarkable life (2005 – 2014). Fashion spreads were just one element in an editorial mix that focused on culture in the broadest sense, with a keen eye on how the past informs the present. Narrated by a timeless theme explored through photography, art, literature and creative writing, Acne Paper published the work of top level contributors from different generations and was admired for its elegant art direction and high production values.

Published by Acne Studios and edited by Thomas Persson, Acne Paper was never a brand magazine in the conventional style. While the fashion stories featured clothes from multiple brands, the editorial topics ranged from 15th century tapestry to LGBTQ culture, from master painting to street photography, from theatre to sculpture, from dance to meditation.

Following the launch of the Acne Paper Book in June 2021, Acne Paper returned in 2021, reimagined with a new design direction: expanding to 500 pages, a revised format and higher production values. Noteworthy for both its design and interdisciplinary editorial approach where the past informs the present, Acne Paper continues to focus on culture in the broadest sense, exploring an eclectic variety of subjects through photography, fashion, art, literature.

For its twenty-first issue, Acne Paper presents Autoportrait – a special edition celebrating 30 years of Acne Studios through a self-portrait of the creative world that has grown around the house since its founding in Stockholm in 1996.

Looking across three decades of fashion, art, architecture, design, publishing and creative collaboration, Autoportrait explores the cultural landscape that has shaped Acne Studios from the very beginning: independent, interdisciplinary and driven by curiosity rather than convention.

The cover, photographed by Carlijn Jacobs, styled by Imruh Asha and featuring Lulu Tenney, captures the spirit of the issue – artistic freedom, intimacy and joyfulness at the intersection of art and fashion. In a deliberate gesture, Tenney appears without clothing, underscoring the long-standing spirit of both Acne Paper and Acne Studios: an approach to image-making and publishing driven by culture, emotion and creative expression.

At the heart of Autoportrait are four self-portrait stories by Jordan Hemingway, Guinevere van Seenus, Malick Bodian and Katerina Jebb, alongside an Acne Studios archive story photographed by Casper Sejersen and styled by George Krakowiak.

The issue also features interviews with Sadie Coles, Honey Dijon, Max Lamb, Viviane Sassen, Robbie Barrat and Swedish actress Lena Endre, with essays by Natasha Fraser, Mark Holgate, Johanna Agerman Ross, Xerxes Cook, Ben Evans, Frances Armstrong Jones and Vince Aletti.

Published at a moment when creative independence feels increasingly rare, Autoportrait reflects on the remarkable position Acne Studios continues to occupy within the fashion landscape. Founded as a small creative collective in Stockholm, the company has remained independently owned for three decades – preserving a distinct cultural voice and a way of working shaped as much by art, architecture and publishing.

Part celebration, part reflection, Autoportrait is ultimately a portrait of the many artists, collaborators, friends and cultural figures who have helped shape the world of Acne Studios over the past thirty years. At the centre stands Jonny Johansson, whose collaborative and cross-disciplinary vision has defined Acne Studios since 1996.