There’s an imposter in the new Acne Studios campaign, as Kylie Jenner drags her dirtied, dragged-through-a-hedge backwards doppelgänger across the floor of a stripped-back studio shoot. The Calabasas queen is the newly crowned – and kind of unexpected – star of the Scandi label’s brilliantly offbeat denim line, which is shot by frequent Dazed contributor, photographer Carlijn Jacobs.
Jenner is obviously better known for her uber-skimpy second-skin looks than she is for wearing anything remotely baggy, but if Acne’s just-dropped series is anything to go by, her style tides are turning. In the pics, the brand has managed to convince her to slip into a massive pair of distressed XXL jawnz, a beaten-up leather trench and matching trousers, a grubby white vest smeared with sticky black oil, and a big, bug-eyed pair of sunglasses dug straight out of the future. No mean feat, we would probably guess.
With Jenner showing up to a handful of Acne Studios shows in recent seasons, having her front this latest campaign was seemingly a no-brainer, with founder Jonny Johansson and co intent on showing her in a new light. Of the collab, the lip kit aficionado says she loves “the organic relationship” she’s built up with the brand. “I loved working with Carlijn and I love the simplicity of the images, they have strength in their directness.”
Jenner’s metamorphosis into haute mechanic marks another twist in her style evolution. Even more recently, she’s been dipping her toe into the cottagecore aesthetic, wafting around makeup-less in cotton sundresses and touching grass as she connects with the great outdoors. With Kim and Kendall usually regarded as the fashion plates of the Kardashian-Jenner fam, maybe this Acne Studios campaign – plus dalliances with Dilara Findikoglu, Margiela, and more – heralds a coming of age sartorially, and a new experimental era of dressing. Watch this space.
