Acne Studios has collaborated with Philadelphia-based artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase for a second time, following their initial partnership for the brand's S/S 2025 runway presentation in Paris. For Frieze Week in New York, Chase has taken over Acne Studios' SoHo flagship with an immersive installation featuring approximately 60 sculptures, furnishings, and paintings. The works, created in Chase's Kensington studio, draw on personal memories, queer identity, and the artist's Philadelphia roots, including soft figurative cloth sculptures, a stuffed cat, bedazzled busts, and vintage furniture covered in doodles. A capsule collection of trousers, T-shirts, a pillow, and a blanket is also available exclusively at the store.
This collaboration matters because it represents a growing intersection between contemporary visual art and fashion, where artists are given significant curatorial control over retail spaces. Chase's installation transforms a commercial boutique into a deeply personal, queer-affirming environment that addresses themes of humanity, body ownership, and sexuality at a politically charged moment. The project also highlights how major fashion brands are increasingly turning to visual artists to create experiential, narrative-driven environments that go beyond traditional window displays, especially timed to coincide with major art events like Frieze New York.