Acne Studios has released its third installment of its Repurposed series, this time bringing a sense of outdoors and adventure to sustainable and upcycled design. 

In September 2020, the Swedish fashion house launched the ongoing collection as a way to “repurpose” excess fabrics and materials leftover from Acne products of previous seasons. The first collection reused materials from its tailoring and jeans factory for cut-and-patched jeans and shirts. It was followed by a similar patchwork approach using denim and leather for an oversized jean jacket, a mini skirt, and shirts.  

This recent iteration takes a much different approach with a theme refresh for the new season. The Jonny Johansson-designed collection focuses on a range of light and heavyweight nylon, cotton jersey, and a cotton-blend ripstop to make up a capsule of outerwear. Garments include light parkas, shorts, shirts, track pants, and accessories like socks and a neck-protected hat to top off the trek-inspired drop. 

The products are tie-dyed in an array of unique colored patterns using coral red, bright pink, almond brown, dark green, and more. It’s touted as a “new kind of camouflage” that, along with the utilitarian pieces, presents “a psychedelic foray into the hiking world.”

However, one point of the collection that is unclear is the source of the dye. The brand notes these dyes are environmentally certified and approved by the Global Organic Textile Standard, but what exactly makes up the dyes or if they’re plant-based — like the dyes extracted from grapes and onions for the Converse “Plant Color” Chuck Taylors or Saucony’s Jazz Court RFG which uses blue gardenia flowers — is unknown.

Though fashionable, Acne’s new sustainability capsule is designed to be fully functional for any adventures on and off the trail. It’s also genderless and meant to span beyond any one season.

“Acne Studios was founded on design experimentation, and today we want to use our creativity to take positive steps towards becoming more mindful,” Johansson told Harper’s Bazaar after the brand’s first Repurposed release. 

The third season of Acne Studios Repurposed is now available online at acnestudios.com. 

In related news, check out BentGableNits upcycled Levi’s collection.