To mark three decades of Acne Studios, the brand has released a new campaign shot by Nan Goldin, turning the lens on the people in its creative family and returning to the material that started it all: denim. Founded in Stockholm in 1996 with 100 pairs of raw denim jeans, recognisable for their red stitching, Acne Studios began by gifting those jeans to artists and friends. Three decades later, creative director Jonny Johansson returns to that foundation.

“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. Denim personalises itself through wear, it becomes yours,” said Johansson. “I have been inspired by Nan and her work for years. When we realised we had 30 years to celebrate, it felt like the right moment to ask her. I wanted an icon, but I also wanted something very intimate and personal. She does that.”

The cast includes musician Ellie Rowsell, model Guinevere Van Seenus, artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase, photographer Jordan Hemingway, actor Juliette Lewis, artist Peter Schlesinger, actor Raya Martigny, actor Rila Fukushima, artist Sandra Poulson, and another friend to be revealed later. Each has contributed to the brand in some form, spanning collaborations that reflect Johansson’s approach. “The subjects are people from our universe, individuals we have collaborated with over the years. I wanted friends, not models,” he said.

Check it out below:

Coinciding with the campaign, the anniversary capsule of re-edition denim launches 3 September in international stores and at acnestudios.com. It includes the 1996, the 2009 bootcut, and a denim jacket, each in two washes, raw and worn, as if before and after thirty years.