Acne Studios – Fashion Company or Zit Removal Service?

Here’s one of those unusual travel photos that’s a ‘false friend’. Meaning, you think it means something but it actually means something else altogehter.

It was sent to me by Brett Minor who runs the The Transformed Nonconformist. He’s now living in Vietnam, but he used to live in China for a while and he sent me a tonne of Chingrish gold that’s kept this silly website running for ages, including:

• Fists of Steel
• Translation Fails
• Grim Casserole
• The Funny Dental Hospital sign
• How To Do The Laundry Instructions
• Bad Beauty Salon Spelling
• The Don’t Forget Me Jacket
• Urine Problems that really take the piss
• The dubious Recycling Bin
• Abibas… and
• The Mariboro Hat!

But today he’s sent me something about Acne Studios! And I totally thought WTF when I first saw this photo, but it will eventually make sense to you.

Acne Studios – What The?

Yes, weird! At first, I thought this was just another fine example of Chingrish, but after I contacted Brett to see what this photo was all about, it all became clear!

Anyway, Brett says ‘I had never heard of Acne brand before and thought it was a typical Chinese typo. It made me think of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. The coyote was always ordering his material from the fictional company ACME. So, I thought some Chinese person had just slapped a label on something (which is very common), but had made an error. I have since learned that ACNE actually exists. I think it’s a bad company name, but there it is. That’s it. That’s the story. Or non-story.’

Acne Studios is actually a luxury fashion house that was founded in Sweden in the mid 1990s. Apparently Acne was meant to be a daggy acronym meaning Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises (only a nerd would come up with that), but that was later changed to Ambition to Create Novel Expression. Yes, arty types!

This jacket is selling for 3850 Chinese Yuan, which roughly converts into about $USD 560, so this is either the real thing, or it could be just another expensive genuine imitation!

Acne Studios produce all sorts of fashion such as scarves, shoes, jeans, shirts, hoodies and all sorts of other clothes.

And because I’m also the Best Fashion Blogger In The World, I’m going to hit them up to see if I can score some freebies from them and pose in all sorts of cute positions and flood my Instagram account with tonnes of photos so heaps of other fashionistas buy their stuff while I get paid a gazillion dollars!

And judging by their prices, they have a pretty decent fan base because their stuff doesn’t come cheap!

Not going to be backpacker fashion any time soon!

Anyway, for more Acne Studio stuff, see Magazine B, by Acne Studios: