Blå Konst, by Acne and Al Knost

Here’s a strange one. So, last night Swedish fashion dons Acne released the second instalment of their Blå Konst range—a return to their denim staple after many years exploring the ether of progressive fashion. But here’s the interesting part—the tag bears the name of Costa Mesa surf renaissance man, Mr Al Knost, as well as what we can only assume is Acne’s regular medium-high price tag.

It’s taken me a little while to work this one out, but finally it’s become clear, ish. Turns out that Al’s a friend of Acne Studios Creative Director, the hopelessly chic Swede, Jonny Johansson. Jonny was so hyped on Al’s style—which isn’t surprising as he’s been making the rest of the surf world look like frumpy philistines for the last, ooh, ten years—that he decided to base the range on Al’s get ups: tees with a Super 8 star print, faded sweats, chinos, bobble hats. Then, as the final ode to his muse, he had Al make the pictured sculptures to complement the range.

The collab marks the latest in a long line of Al dipping his toes into culture at large. An album with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon (listen here), a range with perhaps the premier fashion brand of the moment, you’d need to be a skilled orator to argue that on the whole, Al isn’t one of the most significant surfers of his generation when it comes to shaping surf culture. Whether it’s haircuts, trunks, music or surf craft, Al’s been challenging norms for over a decade. Seeing that the run off of that has undoubtedly been a more open-minded and diverse surfing landscape, long may it continue.