Wood works: Akris carves out a collection inspired by Alexander Girard for S/S18
When guests arrived at the Akris S/S18 show in the basement of the Palais de Tokyo on Sunday, they didn’t expect to see an installation of colourful, life-size wooden toys with naïf faces staring back at them. The space resembled a Gulliver-esque children’s playroom in the land of Brobdingnag – except the crèche had been invaded by the works of the New York-born, Florence-raised artist Alexander Girard.
From the Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera to the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, Akris creative director Albert Kriemler often suffuses his collections with design references and collaborations. Indeed, Girard, who excelled at architecture as well as interior, furniture and textile design, inspired not just the Swiss fashion house’s recent runway set, but the whole collection.
‘Last year, I saw the exhibition “Alexander Girard: a Designer’s Universe” at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein,’ explained Kriemler backstage, adding that he was instantly obsessed with his work. ‘I ended up going three more times and found myself fascinated by the way Girard worked with colours and by the incredible scope of his work. That’s how I ended up calling my friend Rolf Fehlbaum, the chairman emeritus of Vitra, and we started thinking about a collaboration.’
The show opened with a sleek sleeveless coat printed with the same colourful characters that were in its background, who also made their way into chiffon dresses, midi skirts and trouser suits (what a way to twist a workwear staple). Elsewhere, more minimalist strapless and V-neck mini dresses, and tailored trousers in black and navy satin duchesse, featured embellished 3D details, resembling graphic blooms. These were inspired by a plywood sculpture by Girard, made from layers of undulating carvings.
A selection of Alexander Girard’s folkloric and colourful wooden dolls formed the backdrop to the Akris S/S18 runway set
But Kriemler’s love affair with Girard’s work is far from just a one-season fling. ‘Alas, I have no childhood memories of Girard,’ he says humorously when asked if there was a sense of nostalgia linked to the sense of cheerfulness and naïveté omnipresent in the artist’s work – most notably seen in a black chiffon dress, featuring childlike drawings of faces drawn in white, like chalk on a blackboard.
Kriemler has known and loved his work for more than 20 years. ‘I have even met Girard’s family and dined in The Compound in Santa Fe – the last of the wonderful restaurants Girard created where you can still book a table. Girard spent a lot of time in Santa Fe, and being able to experience the light of that setting at an altitude of 2,000m was so new to me, and made me understand his sense of colour’.
This experience also helped shape a collection in which every single colour was taken from Girard’s creative canon. ‘Ultimately, what I wanted was to show how warm and joyful his expression of elegance is,’ Kriemler explains. ‘How Girard’s work captured the spirit of the moment and is timeless because he always had in mind how much we as human beings need beauty and joy.’ Mission accomplished.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Akris website and the Alexander Girard website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2025 highlights: Harry Styles-invested label S.S. Daley holds its first womenswear show
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss selects the best of London Fashion Week S/S 2025, which began this afternoon with the first womenswear show from S.S. Daley, attended by Harry Styles, who invested in the label earlier this year
By Jack Moss Published
-
A guide to the best fashion stores London has to offer
As London Fashion Week arrives in the British capital today (13 September 2024), Wallpaper* picks the must-visit London fashion stores – from big-name boutiques and classic department stores to the best in vintage, alongside the sleek and experimental
By Jack Moss Published
-
FKA Twigs at Sotheby’s: healing, rawness and Eusexua
FKA Twigs debuts durational artwork at Sotheby’s, London, to coincide with new album launch, Eusexua. Wallpaper’s Hannah Silver was there
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Constant dialogue and lively exchange’: Akris’ Albert Kriemler on two decades of collaboration with choreographer John Neumeier
Akris’ Albert Kriemler has collaborated with John Neumeier on the costumes for ’Epilogue’, the choreographer’s final ballet as artistic director of Hamburg Ballet. Here, Kriemler tells Wallpaper* about their enduring creative partnership
By Jack Moss Published
-
Akris Spring 2024 is a vivid tribute to a textile design legend
Textile designer Felice ‘Lizzi’ Rix-Ueno inspires Akris’ Spring 2024 collection, which is alive with botanical references
By Simon Mills Published
-
Akris’ century-old roots in St Gallen, Switzerland, are explored in new textile exhibition
‘Akris: St Gallen, selbstverständlich’ at Textile Museum St Gallen explores the Swiss fashion house’s history of craft, backdropped by its home city’s links with fabric production and embroidery
By Jack Moss Published
-
Akris at 100: how the Swiss house is celebrating a century in fashion
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Akris’ tribute to the embroidery city of St. Gallen
Creative director Albert Kriemler on Akris’ Fall/Winter 2021 collection, which honours the heritage of its Swiss hometown
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Akris unveils luminescent collaboration with artist Imi Knoebel
This Swiss brand has created a colourful collection inspired by the works of the abstract German aritst
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
A room with a view: fashion designers' line of sight
From Manolo Blahnik to Margaret Howell, we've invited fashion designers to document by hand what they can see from their work desk or window, be it a view of a verdant garden landscape, or an urban snapshot of baroque architecture. They might just inspire you to work on a self-isolation sketch of your own.
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
In the bag: Albert Kriemler on Akris’ ‘Create your Aidentity’ campaign
By Katrina Israel Last updated