{"id":33,"date":"2026-10-27T08:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/?p=33"},"modified":"2026-10-27T08:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:18:23","slug":"how-akris-designer-albert-kriemler-lets-art-light-up-his-runways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/?p=33","title":{"rendered":"How Akris Designer Albert Kriemler Lets Art Light Up His Runways"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tAs a teenager, Albert Kriemler grew up traveling to fabric fairs with his family, founders of the Swiss fashion house Akris, and occasionally attending the fashion shows of Yves Saint Laurent, whose legendary art-inspired collections brought Vincent van Gogh, Georges Braque and Piet Mondrian to life on the runway.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs it any wonder Kriemler, creative director of Akris since 1980, frequently turns to art to nurture his creativity?<\/p>\n

\n\tHis zesty fall 2026 Akris collection, for example, was the fruit of a collaboration with Colombian artist Olga de Amaral, whose large-scale textile works, often covered in gold or silver leaf, emboldened him to stretch beyond his usual comfort zone of luxurious understatement and go all out with shine, color and texture.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"model<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tA look from the Akris fall 2026 runway<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIsidore Montag\/Courtesy of Akris<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tHe first drew a direct line between his fashions and art with the brand\u2019s first Paris runway show in 2004, which was inspired by the colors of Swiss-French painter F\u00e9lix Vallotton.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt wasn\u2019t long before Kriemler was collecting art, befriending artists \u2014 and occasionally lobbying artists to partner with him on a collection, open-sourcing his creative methods with them.<\/p>\n

\n\tKriemler certainly went all-in with de Amaral, visiting the 94-year-old for several days at her home in Bogot\u00e1, soaking up her wisdom about her craft.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tA Broader Base of Inspiration\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u201cI found out that when you get involved in an artist\u2019s work and how she does art, that you get a much broader base for inspiration. You learn how she thinks about color, how she thinks about light, how she thinks about proportion,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuch tie-ups have helped unlock Kriemler\u2019s experimental side, perhaps most dramatically with his fall 2014 collection that featured LED-equipped dresses and tailoring, evoking the \u201cStars\u201d series by acclaimed German photo artist Thomas Ruff.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Albert<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tAlbert Kriemler with artist Thomas Ruff<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Akris<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tHe recalls with fresh excitement the discovery that fabric house Forster Rohner, based in Akris\u2019 hometown of St. Gallen, was incubating a burgeoning practice in electronic-enabled embroideries.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s always interesting when you can infuse new technologies into the workmanship process, because you create a new appearance,\u201d Kriemler says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a new playground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile big fashion brands routinely collaborate with blue-chip artists, Kriemler has a knack for rooting out under-the-radar or on-the-cusp talents, always trusting his instincts. <\/p>\n

\n\tHe has shone a spotlight on Reinhard Voigt\u2019s pixelated oil paintings, Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera\u2019s abstract color planes, and Rodney Graham\u2019s multimedia hijinks, not simply transposing their art onto garments but letting the works contribute to the structure, proportions, coloration and spirit of his designs.<\/p>\n

\n\tKriemler was initially drawn to de Amaral\u2019s work because of her penchant for horsehair, a linchpin material for Akris handbags and also sometimes incorporated into jackets.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"model<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tA look inspired by Reinhard Voigt for the fall 2022 Akris collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Akris<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tMartha Jungwirth, the Austrian artist who inspired the Akris spring 2027 collection, drew him in with her \u201cvery expressive way of painting\u201d and her use of color.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBut what I loved always is that she works not on white canvas like a lot of artists. She uses a natural linen canvas always, and that\u2019s always part of her work,\u201d he enthuses.<\/p>\n

\n\tKriemler first discovered Jungwirth\u2019s paintings at Thaddaeus Ropac about five years ago, traveling expressly to Bilbao, Spain, two years ago just to catch the big Jungwirth retrospective at the Guggenheim there.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tEnjoying the Unexpected\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe designer visits galleries and art museums whenever he travels, often going one hour before closing to avoid queues, relishing unexpected discoveries, like a Vilhelm Hammersh\u00f8i exhibition he stumbled upon in 2019 at the Mus\u00e9e Jacquemart-Andr\u00e9 in Paris.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ll never forget that moment: An artist I\u2019d never heard about before, and then you get to see such an exquisite work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat said, he has his usual haunts. Here, a roundup of his favorite art destinations<\/strong>, many of them in Switzerland:<\/p>\n

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  • Mai 36 Galerie in Zurich<\/strong>: Where Kriemler first discovered Ruff and got to know Lawrence Weiner, among others. \u201cI regularly visit all exhibitions because I trust their curatorial level, which is very high,\u201d he says.<\/li>\n
  • The George Economou Collection in Athens<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s a private collection, but they also do unusual exhibitions,\u201d Kriemler says.<\/li>\n
  • Kunsthaus in Z\u00fcrich<\/strong>: \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see the upcoming exhibition about Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch. It will be interesting to see two artists which have lived nearly 50 years apart but have a lot of similarity in their approaches,\u201d Kriemler says.<\/li>\n
  • The Kunstmuseum in Basel<\/strong>: \u201cwhich also has a very interesting young curator and director,\u201d Kriemler says of director Elena Filipovic. \u201cI\u2019m quite spoiled with Swiss museums, you know.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • The Beyeler Foundation in Basel<\/strong>: Where it will soon debut new buildings conceived by architect Peter Zumthor.<\/li>\n
  • Lisson Gallery in London<\/strong>: Where Kriemler discovered Carmen Herrera and Rodney Graham.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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