Let's all shop at Acne

There's a strange thing about words. Sometimes they mean "nice" things and sometimes they mean "bad" things. Most of the time, we all know what each word means and use them properly. But, sometimes, it gets confusing. Take the word, "madam" as an example. It can mean a woman of refinement and distinction. We might honor someone as "Madam", bowing deeply and waving her through into a swanky hotel. But it can also mean someone involved in running a brothel and, in other contexts, a young girl who has no manners. That's one word but three different meanings and you can only tell which meaning to give the word by looking at where and how it's used in a conversation. In other words, words start off with simple meanings - the so-called denotative or dictionary meanings - but, over time, acquire additional meanings - usually called connotative meanings. That's "wicked bad" which means "totally cool" or "really good" - for those of you who like the technical side of things, this is using an antonym to express the opposite meaning in slang. Anyway, for generations, acne has been the skin condition most dreaded by the young as they grow into their teen years. The scientist geeks expand the condition into "acne vulgaris" because it's a "common" skin condition and the addition of vulgaris suggests connotational meanings of the "unwashed masses" and their "indecent" behavior. However you use it, acne is a "bad" word in the original meaning of "bad". So that makes it all the more surprising that a Scandinavian company should have picked the word as their brand. Usually, language wonks sit in backrooms with marketers and warn them that words do not travel well from one culture to another. Did you know, for example, that there's a very successful drink (quite like lemonade) sold in France under the brand name Pshit - that's like the noise you get when you open the can. For some reason, it does not sell well in countries where English is spoken. But Acne is now selling well around the world. In 2008, Acne opened its first store in New York. This is a major step forward. Acne has been spreading across the face of Europe and now it's infecting the US with its range of cool designer clothes. Here's a headline for you. Acne is probably most famous for its denim! Next time you are in Soho, walk down Greene Street to admire the store design (and buy some of their famous jeans). So what does the brand "Acne" stand for? Well, it's a collective that started life in Stockholm. It designs clothes for both men and women, furniture for the home, and produces music videos and movies. If you want something interesting to read on trends in European design, pick up a copy of Acne Paper. So this is one case of acne that does not need the help of accutane. No matter how effective accutane is, it cannot remove the really cool clothes from Greene Street. It takes your dollars to get the Acne clothes out of the door. When you think about it, this is a really bold use of language. It challenges our assumptions and gets the brand talked about. So, tomorrow, let's all shop at Acne!