Acne Womenswear a/w 2008 - youthful and mischievous

Imagine the fierce and powerful matador Juanita Cruz, battling a heaving, bloodied bull in Mexico in 1945, in a full skirt. Then consider the contemporary matador champion Christina Sanchez in her traje de luces, her bullfighter’s suit of lights, a heavily decorated jacket with extreme shoulders, and the now customary Capri pants.

These are the heroines that have inspired Acne’s a/w 08 collection, with their fearlessness, courage, strength and creativity. The collection is eclectic in style, with tough leathers combined with soft cashmere, transparent mesh with heavy velour and futuristic neoprene with fine silks. Aspiring to be as youthful and mischievous as the female matadors, with their audacity to question the conventions, Acne’s a/w 08 collection features a masculine T-shaped silhouette, with broad shoulders and a nipped-in waist, unexpectedly combined with the most delicate of skirts, bursting with frills, tucks and folds. Powdery pinks, emerald greens, dusty blues and soft camels are combined with sombre blacks, deep purples and dark greys to create a look that is both severe and tender at the same time.