Inside Acne Studios’ Paris HQ Transformation of a Former Pharmaceutical Lab.

Acne Studios knows what’s up. The brand’s commitment to design and architecture is legendary (their Stockholm HQ is situated in a 1972 Brutalist building, a former Czechoslovakian embassy designed by Czech architect Jan Bočan, transformed by Johannes Norlander Arkitektur and Creative Director Jonny Johansson), not to mention their epic retail spaces around the world. This tradition continues with their newly launched Paris headquarters.

Set in the 10th arrondissement’s 10 Rue des Petites Écuries, the space was once the Gomenol Laboratory—a 1930s complex where the Prevet family made herbal tinctures and oils. The headquarters span the historic laboratory building and adjoining hôtel particulier.

Instead of ripping everything out, Johansson teamed up with equally legendary (as far as I’m concerned) Swedish design studio Halleroed to create what he calls “an ode to the building’s original beauty.”

The approach here works because it’s honest. Walk through the restored hôtel particulier and you’ll find gold-painted mouldings and parquet floors that have been brought back to life. These historical bits sit alongside contemporary pieces: furniture by Lukas Gschwandtner, marble sculptures by Daniel Silver, and candelabras by Sylvie Macmillan.

Acne Studios' Monumental HQ in Stockholm.

Creating a ‘fashion school’ atmosphere with endless creative inspiration, the Acne Studios headquarters includes a lobby with custom furnishings by Max Lamb and select items of clothing displayed as if in a gallery.

The old laboratory is now a massive showroom where concrete columns and the original vaulted glass-tiled ceiling are left exposed, almost like they’re mid-excavation. White walls play against these aged surfaces. “We wanted the new additions to the space to be quite minimal, to create a stark contrast to the existing building,” says designer Christian Halleröd. “I think it’s about this idea of honesty, which in a way is quite Swedish.”

The showroom’s star players are a pair of huge Max Lamb sofas covered in high-shine Acne Studios pink vinyl for that perfect touch of ugly cool.

The rest of the space gets similar treatment. The canteen keeps its original tiled floor but adds blonde timber communal tables and stainless-steel kitchen surfaces that nod to the building’s scientific past. A VIP fitting room features floor-to-ceiling curtains and seating that echoes Gschwandtner’s set design for Acne Studios’ SS24 show.

“Our main focus was to respect the history of the space while bringing in a fresh, modern energy,” Johansson says. “The building itself has this incredible presence—it’s filled with stories, and you can feel that when you walk through the rooms. We didn’t want to strip that away.”

Throughout the building, custom lighting by longtime collaborator Benoît Lalloz complements artworks by Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Apollinaria Broche, Ben Quinn, and William Wegman—many of them previous Acne collaborators who connect to the brand’s creative community.

This project shows how smart changes can honour old buildings while serving today’s needs. The result feels historical but unmistakably current and progressive—not an easy thing to pull off.

Acne Studios Stockholm Flagship by Arquitectura-G.

Acne’s famed flagship occupies the upscale Norrmalmstorg square in a former bank where the infamous six-day hostage drama took place in 1973 which coined the psychological phenomenon known as the "Stockholm Syndrome".

[Images courtesy of Acne Studios. Photography by Benoit Florençon.]