The pink acne paper bookcase arrives at standBy harajuku in Tokyo

The pink library in Tokyo celebrates 30 years of acne paper

Acne Studios transforms of Tokyo StandBy art gallery Harajuku in the Acne Paper Pink Library, a temporary audience reading room marking the launch of Acne Paper Issue 21: Autoportrait and the Swedish fashion house’s 30th anniversary. The installation invites visitors to browse the latest issue of Acne Paper, its archive and a curated selection books curated by Tokyo’s POST bookstore, bringing together fashion, art, architecture, design and publishing under one roof.

At StandBy Harajuku, the intervention embraces the of the gallery exposed concrete architecture with a monochrome pink interior. A continuous built-in sofa wraps the perimeter of the space around low tables stacked with books and magazines, creating an environment meant for reading and browsing rather than retail. Large windows facing the street turn the library into an open screen, inviting passers-by inside.

all images courtesy of Acne Studios

SELF-PORTRAIT BEYOND THE PRINTED PAGE

The Tokyo installation is part of a wider international program taking place in Tokyo, Paris, London, Shanghai and New York between 25 June and 5 July 2026. Each city hosts its own version of the Acne Paper Pink Library, adapting the concept to a different urban environment, celebrating the creative atmosphere that shaped Acne Stockholm6 at its inception. The Seine presents books and objects in collaboration with Delpire & Co, while London transforms a traditional telephone box in Soho Square into a miniature pink library curated by Claire de Rouen Books.

Libraries accompany the publication of Autoportrait, the twenty-first issue of Acne Paper, designed as a self-portrait of the creative community that has grown around fashion house the last three decades. The anniversary edition brings together four self-portrait portfolios by Jordan Hemingway, Guinevere van Seenus, Malick Bodian and Katerina Jebb, along with an archival story photographed by Casper Sejersen and styled by George Krakowiak. Interviews with Sadie Coles, Honey Dijon, Max Lamb, Viviane Sassen, Robbie Barrat and Lena Endre appear alongside essays by Natasha Fraser, Mark Holgate, Johanna Agerman Ross, Xerxes Cook, Ben Evans, Frances Armstrong Jones and Vince Aletti.

The anniversary celebrations also extend to Acne Paper Palais Royal in Paris, where A Blank Canvas, an exhibition by Carlijn Jacobs, presents photographs created for the cover of Autoportrait. Installed as a working studio, the exhibition explores painting, movement and performance, expanding the themes introduced in the publication.

Acne Studios transform StandBy Harajuku into the Acne Paper Pink Library