Thomas Persson

Thomas Persson is a Swedish editor and creative director best known for shaping Acne Paper, the cultural publication issued by Acne Studios. He established the magazine with the company in the mid-2000s and directed its original run until 2014, commissioning photography, essays, interviews and archival material around broad thematic issues.

Acne Paper was structured as an editorial project rather than a conventional branded magazine. Its subjects included art, literature, history, performance and fashion, and its contributors were presented within long-form visual and written narratives instead of seasonal product promotion.

Persson returned for the publication’s 2021 revival in an expanded book format and remains central to its continuing programme. The project later gained a permanent physical extension through Acne Paper Palais Royal in Paris.

Persson’s editorial method is thematic and associative. Each issue builds a cultural field around one subject, allowing historical material, commissioned photography and contemporary voices to sit together without being forced into a product narrative.

Scale, paper, sequencing and image reproduction are treated as editorial tools. The publication’s extended formats and high production values slow down the encounter with fashion imagery and give contributors room for sustained visual arguments.

Within Acne Studios, the work provides an independent cultural register. It expands the company’s world without turning every contribution into an endorsement of the seasonal collection.