How Our Legacy became the New Acne Studios

Navigating the Pipeline from Tumblr to TikTok

Source: Highsnobiety/Our Legacy

A pioneer in minimalist, yet elevated and perfectly proportioned menswear, Acne Studios reached critical mass in 2015 in parallel path with the Tumblr era, fascination in architecture and avant-garde design, and spark in European fit & attention to detail. The brand started in 1996 in Stockholm and has since defined an era of menswear focused on simplicity, silhouette, and palette. Short for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions, Acne’s denim and knitwear ushered in a new wave of menswear consumers. Acne became known for its extremely unique approach to fashion marketing. Recently relaunched from a short hiatus, Acne ran a magazine called ‘Acne Paper’ (new edition can be found here) that covered multiple disciplines and collaborators like David Lynch and Tilda Swinton. The result was a cult-menswear phenomenon that became an immersive experience. While the brand is still staying true to its roots, other players emerged and the European minimalist luxury space became increasingly crowded. Of these brands, no brand has had as prolific of a rise as Our Legacy. Also a Stockholm based brand founded in 2005, Our Legacy is a mainstay in every menswear fan’s closet. From strategic collaborations with Stussy, highly vocal cosigns among the menswear community, and their innovative WORKSHOP atelier workspace, Our Legacy’s strategy is a powerful indicator for the future of fashion. 

Source: Acne Studios

Acne is to Tumblr as Our Legacy is to TikTok 

Tumblr was a highly visual and auditory platform that was essentially a dynamic moodboard or blog. It was a seamless discovery engine to find new brands and experiences. Tumblr was one of the first ways we started to associate brands with art, travel, or simply anything beyond fashion itself. During the platform’s peak, European chic was the name of the game. Slim denim, black leather jackets, and esoteric, oversized knitwear reigned supreme allowing Acne Studios to became the authoritative menswear brand. Now after an evolution of the way we consume content, TikTok has became the ultimate discovery engine and other brands have a larger spotlight.