Nan Goldin's Acne Studios Campaign: Denim Portraits Mark Brand's 30th

Nan Goldin, the acclaimed photographer and activist, has shot a new ad campaign for Swedish fashion brand Acne Studios to mark its 30th anniversary. The campaign features portraits of individuals drawn from what the brand calls its "creative family," chosen to capture Acne's founding spirit of "free expression, creative experimentation and proud individuality."

The sitters include artists Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Peter Schlesinger, and Sandra Poulson, as well as actor and musician Juliette Lewis, musician Ellie Rowsell, model Guinevere Van Seenus, photographer Jordan Hemingway, actor Raya Martigny, and actor Rila Fukushima. Acne also teased one additional portrait to be revealed later.

Acne cofounder and creative director Jonny Johansson explained the choice of Goldin: "I have been inspired by Nan and her work for years... I wanted an icon, but I also wanted something very intimate and personal. She does that." He also emphasized that the subjects are "friends, not models," reflecting the brand's longstanding relationships with its collaborators.

The campaign's subjects are photographed wearing denim, which Acne describes as its "foundational material." When the brand was established in 1996, Johansson and his cofounders gifted 100 pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching to their circle of artists and creatives. Johansson noted, "Denim is the perfect canvas. We're rooted in it. It's a material of today that also ages and becomes something else through its story."

Chase, who also created the runway set for Acne's Spring/Summer 2025 show, commented, "Denim is part of my everyday wear inside the studio, or out for dinner. I love its multifaceted materiality." The campaign thus ties product to personal narrative, a hallmark of Goldin's approach.

Goldin has a history of fashion collaborations, having worked with brands such as RVCA, Rodarte, Medea, Supreme, and Gucci. Her 2024 Gucci campaign featured musicians Debbie Harry and Kelsey Lu, and those photographs were later shown at Gagosian gallery in editions of seven, with prices starting at $28,000 per print. This demonstrates a direct link between her commercial work and the art market.

Beyond her photography, Goldin is known for her activism, founding P.A.I.N. in 2017 to protest the Sackler family's role in the opioid crisis. She has also been a vocal supporter of Palestine, which she has said negatively impacted her market: "my career tanked—my market tanked from one day to the next because of my support of Palestine." This context adds layers to her commercial partnerships, balancing artistic prestige with personal risk.

The campaign illustrates how fashion collaborations can serve as a platform for artists to maintain cultural relevance, even when their market faces public backlash.

Goldin's portraits for Acne Studios extend her practice of intimate, personal photography into the commercial realm, reaffirming the value of human connection in an industry often dominated by spectacle. As Acne celebrates three decades, the collaboration underscores the enduring appeal of authenticity and the power of artistic vision in brand storytelling.