| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Founder(s) | Alice Kriemler-Schoch |
| Headquarters | St.Gallen, Switzerland |
| Number of locations | Over 500 points of sale worldwide including freestanding boutiques |
| Key people | Albert Kriemler, Head Designer and Creative Director; Peter Kriemler, CEO |
| Products | Luxury goods |
| Website | www.akris.ch |
Akris is a Swiss fashion label specializing in luxury goods for women (ready-to-wear, leather accessories), founded by Alice Kriemler-Schoch.
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Akris was founded in 1922 by Alice Kriemler-Schoch; the word “Akris” was derived from the letters of Kriemler-Schoch's name.[1] The company initially made simple, dotted aprons that were crafted by Kriemler-Schoch on a single sewing machine.[2][3] Each super luxe piece is still designed in Switzerland and honors Alice with hidden polka-dots in the lining.7 In 1944, Kriemler-Schoch's son Max Kriemler took over the business.[2] The company grew significantly and began producing ready-to-wear clothing.[4],[5] Following the lead of Max Kriemler, Akris also produced clothes for French designers Givenchy and Ted Lapidus.[4]
However in 1980, Max Kriemler’s right-hand man died. Though Max’s son Albert had planned to travel to Paris to study fashion and apprentice at Givenchy, Max asked Albert to postpone his education for two years to assist in the company’s transition.[3][5][6] He agreed.[5] Albert would never complete his fashion education; within those two years, he had already begun to take over the company.[5] Peter Kriemler, Albert’s brother, joined Akris in 1987 after studies at St. Gallen University on law and economy to head its financial side.[3] Peter is now Akris’s global president, handling management and manufacturing.[4]Peter Kriemler is credited with bringing the Akris collection to Asia with subsidiaries in Japan and Korea, as well as developing the worldwide network of directly operated stores.[3] Peter is now Akris’s global president, handling management and manufacturing.[4]
Under Albert Kriemler’s creative direction, Akris became increasingly conscious of the quality of its design.[7] Albert is "known for his creative flair and demand for uncompromising quality".[6] The Swiss label, known for its quiet classicism, luxe fabrics, and stealth aesthetic, suddenly finds itself right on trend. [19]
Since 2002, the Akris collection is shown during Paris fashion week-the only Swiss house in the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. [8]
1922 Akris founded by Alice Kriemler Schoch.
1945 Max Kriemler joins the company. Step by step, Akris is built up into an international Pret a Porter brand, which opens the door to Paris and creates the foundations for worldwide development.
1980 Albert Kriemler joins the family business and takes over creative responsibilities.
1985 Development of the current Akris company logo.
1987 Peter Kriemler joins the company. Official takeover of management by both brothers in the third generation. Whilst Albert is wholly responsible for creation and the visual impact of the company, Peter takes care of manage ment and production. Marketing responsibilities are shared.
1988 Sales debut of Akris at Bergdorf Goodman in New York.
1995 First global advertising campaign with US photographer Steven Klein, New York, and model Stella Tennant.
1996 Launch of the Designer Sportswear Collection Akris punto, based on a unique concept.
1996 Opening of the first Akris boutique in Paris and Boston.
Since the mid 1990's, continuous expansion of sales outlets in the U.S.A. with partners Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Holt Renfrew.
1999 Akris becomes a member of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode and thus joins the small circle of non French couturiers in this organization, such as Dries van Noten, Issey Miyake or Valentino.
1999 Opening of the first Akris Boutique in Seoul, Korea.
2000 Opening of Namiki Dori, Ginza, the first Akris Boutique in Tokyo, Japan.
2001 Opening of the second boutique in Paris on Avenue Montaigne.
2002 Founding of the subsidiary Akris Japan Ltd. with Headquarter in Tokyo.
2003 Opening of a new boutique on Kohlmarkt in Vienna. Opening of a new boutique on Madison Avenue in New York.
2004 First official press defile in Paris. Opening of a new boutique on Neuer Wall in Hamburg.
2006 Collaboration with the Vienna State Opera Ballet for their renowned New Year Concert.
2008 Albert Kriemler is awarded ‘Grand Prix Design’ prize by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture in 2008 and honored with the “Swiss Design Award” for his achievements as the “most important international ambassador for fashion creation in design.”[8]
2009 Akris acquires German handbag designer Comtesse.
2010 Albert Kriemler is named the star honoree for fashion design at the 2010 Fashion Group International Awards in New York.[9]
2011 Opening of two new boutiques in Munich, Germany and Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. First virtual trunk show held at Bergdorf Goodman. [9] [10]
Akris is a fashion house synonymous with refinement, minimalism and impeccable Haute Couture craftsmanship, with ready-to-wear and accessory collections. Akris stands for wearable clothes, sharp feminine tailoring and a balance between the essentials – finest material, precise proportion, and effortless functionality.[10]
Akris. The name stands for a new kind of luxury.[11] Unmistakably modern, feminine and discrete. Elegance, an uncomplicated silhouette and simple to combine - these are the charms of the Couture Designer Collection as well as the creative flair, the simple cut and the flattering materials.[11]
Clear shapes and simple lines are the fundamental basics of the Akris collection and creative flair is expressed unobtrusively in each and every piece.[11] Luxurious materials such as double-face, cashmere and silk, in their most lavish interpretations, deliver incomparable luxury and radiate the charm of reserved elegance and cultivated beauty. [11]
With an architectural approach, Albert Kriemler’s process of creation begins with material. Designing with the experience of the woman in mind, Kriemler’s ability to understand the place where fashion and comfort co-exist is what has made Akris coveted by women around the globe. Achieving harmony between Haute Couture handicraft and the necessity for chic, understated clothes is the constant pursuit for Albert Kriemler. The Akris jacket in double-face cashmere or wool, for example, is a feat in Haute Couture workmanship and in its many reinterpretations always maintains timelessness - right for the mobility of everyday life.[10]
Akris has taken fashion from the runway to the stage during several unique collaborations with the Hamburg Ballet and the Vienna State Opera Ballet, including their renowned New Year Concert.
Double-Face is a specialty of the Akris house and – as a material quality with two right sides – is the most interesting material for modern, luxurious fashion. Both material layers are connected by an invisible seam. To work this material, the seam is opened at the edge and is then hemmed by hand. This requires a special process and a great deal of craftsmanship, which has become another unique feature of the Akris identity.[10]
In 1995, Akris introduced a new line called AKRIS Punto.[2] The Akris Punto collection embodies the intrinsic elements of Akris with an emphasis on relaxed sportswear, reaching a broad range of women today.[8] In 2009, Akris expanded its Prêt-a-Porter offering with the introduction of handbags featuring Horsehair textile, a rare woven fabric made from the tail-hair.[8] Congruent in philosophy, the handbags possess Albert Kriemler’s understated design aesthetic in an uncompromised quality - another expression of his passion for material.[8] The Ai bag is the collection’s signature shape, a subtle trapezoid relating the A of Akris – a complement to the ethos of Akris dressing.[8]
Akris was admitted to the French Chambre Syndicale, the governing body of the French fashion industry, in 2000.[4] The company delayed participating in Paris Fashion Week until 2004, when it was able to secure a spot on one of the event’s most important days.[4][3] In the 2000s, the company was one of the world's fastest-growing designer brands,[2][5] becoming one of the top sellers at stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.[3] Akris's success is largely due to trunk shows and word of mouth;[3] the company does very little advertising.[4] The company's road to success has differed from that of other luxury brands: it does not produce fragrances and does not license its name.[3][4]
Renowned photographer Steven Klein has shot the Akris collections for the past fifteen years and recently the Akris Fall 2011 Winter 2012 campaign.
Akris is the largest Swiss clothing producer, though it does not disclose sales or profit figures.[3][4] Its value has been reported as approximately $500 million; the company has not disputed this figure,[3] but the number may be an overestimate “judging from [Albert] Kriemler’s response when that number is tossed out.[4] Akris clothing is sold in more than 500 locations worldwide.[4]
Approximately 40% of Akris sales are in North America.[11] Akris was first sold in the United States in 1998;[11] the brand can now be found in 70 U.S. stores, including over 20 Neiman Marcus locations and 30-some Saks Fifth Avenue locations.[4] Freestanding Akris boutiques are located in Boston and New York City.[4] Akris Punto is sold in approximately 100 stores in the United States.[4]
Women tend to discover Akris for themselves. Nicole Kidman spotted a coat in a store window on a Sunday evening and ordered it the following morning. Other fans include Angelina Jolie, Diane Sawyer, Princess Charlène of Monaco, Susan Sarandon, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice among many others.[16]
The company’s headquarters are located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, where 200 employees work on the creative, administrative, and marketing activities of the company.[4] The design process begins with the fabric; Kriemler then sketches his designs.[6][1] Akris fabrics are often custom-produced; sometimes, development of a fabric may take years.[6] Most of the fabrics used in Akris clothing are produced in specialized mills in northern Italy.[4]
Akris clothing is generally produced in ateliers in St. Gallen, Zurich, and Ticino, Switzerland.[6][4] Kriemler has aimed to continue St. Gallen’s textile-based history by hiring local artisans.[1] About half of the company’s 280 manufacturing employees are highly skilled artisans;[4] two years of training are required for a seamstress to master the hand-finishing of Akris’s double-faced cashmere jackets, each of which requires two and a half days to complete.[4][3]