Acne Paper x Viviane Sassen

Dutch-born, Kenya-raised photographer Viviane Sassen demonstrates how this season's provocative palettes and silhouettes mingle naturally with their urban surroundings in this excerpt from the upcoming New York-themed issue of Acne Paper, the editorial offshoot of the Stockholm label. Employing a full-length mirror as a curbside prop and hand-held accessory, Sassen slices through each look to create her signature dynamic visuals, which feature regularly in Vogue France, AnOther Magazine and i-D. "Sassen is a kind of camouflage artist," explains Acne Paper Editor-in-Chief Thomas Persson, who describes the photographer's world as one of "visual beauty and engagement." Taking cues from the cartoon-colored sidewalks of Manhattan, stylist Mattias Karlsson fashions a collage of ready-to-wear looks from perpetually ahead designers like Miu Miu, Chalayan, and Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière, alongside game-changers Proenza Schouler and Christopher Kane. Under Sassen’s lens, the clothes echo the graffiti-splashed New York of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, demonstrating that it doesn’t take restraint to blend in with the local wildlife––just a good dose of self-reflection.