Robyn is the face of Acne Studios’ SS26 campaign Assertive femininity through the lens of Nadia Lee Cohen
Acne Studios presents its SS26 campaign, a series of portraits of musician Robyn shot by Nadia Lee Cohen, ahead of Robyn’s upcoming album, Sexistential, and the launch of the SS26 collection by Acne Studios. The campaign both questions and celebrates the classic idea of female identity, pushing it further while embracing it at the same time, in a series of portraits of the musician where chaos and control, play and pleasure, capture the sensual experience of being alive.
«Robyn has been a natural collaborator; we’ve known each other for many years and there was something very much her in the collection,» says Jonny Johansson, creative director of Acne Studios, who asked the Swedish musician to create the soundtrack for the SS26 show, held at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris last October. A creative partnership shaped by elective affinities, ongoing for years: «I’ve known Jonny for a very long time and we’ve collaborated in different ways, orbiting around each other for years,» says Robyn. «But this time it was more collaborative than ever.»
Nadia Lee Cohen collaborates with creative director Mel Ottenberg and stylist Tamara Rothstein on a campaign composed of images and videos that evoke the subversive and countercultural portraiture of the ’70s and ’80s. The creative team’s vision unfolds as a vivid yet intimate exploration of the singer’s identity: «Robyn has always followed her own rhythm, and there’s something fearless about that – but it’s a courage born from sensitivity, not ego,» says Johansson. «She never tries to impress anyone, and that’s rare. I’m drawn to people who create worlds, and she does.»
In the exploration of boundaries and the questioning of clothing categories such as menswear and womenswear, a new protagonist emerges, offering an alternative reading: Robyn. In her, an identity in constant becoming takes shape, never fixed, never definitively inscribed within predetermined coordinates. The uniform shirt in cotton poplin with shoulder straps is central, while coated fabrics, iconic denim and new versions of the Camero bag, enriched with leather tassels or buckles, suggest a countercultural undertone. The SS26 cowboy boots, an emblematic accessory of Acne Studios, appear throughout the campaign.
«I’ve always felt that when I wore long hair and dresses it was like being in drag – which can be both empowering and fun,» says Robyn. «And this felt like another kind of drag. It was extremely satisfying to play with it. A way to project vulnerability and toughness at the same time. Which is kind of my whole signature.» In this sense, the campaign does not simply present the SS26 collection, but stands as a manifesto, a true statement of intent. Freedom, identity exploration and a play of contrasts intertwine in the construction of an imaginary charged with strong symbolic power, permeated by a natural sensual energy.
