In partnership with Akris
Architecture provided the original inspiration for the Akris Ai bag, its distinctive trapezoidal design – seen here as part of the brand’s A/W 2024 collection – remaining a staple of the Swiss fashion house, season after season, some 14 years after its debut.
Akris’ creative director Albert Kriemler was visiting the abandoned Jinhua Architecture Park in China, curated by artist Ai Weiwei when the idea for the bag was first conceived. Among its 17 pavilions, including designs by Herzog & de Meuron and Fernando Romero, Kriemler was struck by a remarkable building conceived by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao.
Her works merge geometry and nature, and to Kriemler, her suspended, trapezoidal structure seemed to echo the ‘A’ in Akris. The experience was something of an epiphany for Kriemler – whose grandmother Alice Kriemler-Schoch had founded in Akris back in 1922 – and led to the geometric form of the Ai bag, the label’s first handbag, launched in 2010.
While it is now offered in leather, wool, cotton, shearling and neoprene, the original Ai bag was crafted in a material first deployed by 18th-century furniture makers, such as Chippendale, and one that remains Kriemler’s favourite. ‘Horsehair was an unexpected fabric in luxury accessories when I chose it for the first Ai bag,’ he says. ‘It is a historical material but its properties make it look like it could have been designed for just now. Horsehair is perfect for travel. It is lighter and more resilient than leather. The colours get more interesting with time and use. And it is so rare. To me, horsehair represents a new era of handbag refinement.’
Kriemler’s collections, from bags to clothing, are characterised by this architectural approach. He embraces colour, fabric and simplicity, driven by the contrast of subtlety and strength. ‘I am convinced that in today’s complex world, it’s all about designing fashion that appears simple at first glance,’ he says. ‘The potential for creativity and zeitgeist lies in a natural, real approach. But creation acquires meaning and relevance when it also fulfils a function.’
For A/W 2024, Akris has embraced ideas of multifunctionality and transformation: a hybrid coat can also be a gilet or a jacket; a trench becomes a dress and a skirt. Volume-shifting silhouettes are sharply tailored and elongated. Textured cashmere knits are sumptuous to the touch. Fabrics span from practical cotton gabardine to weightless organza and lacquered leather and lace. Dark colours dominate the palette, occasionally shot through with lighter tones of ambra, magenta, peridot, and pure ecru for a warm sensuality.
The same spectrum also pertains to the Ai handbag collection. Its enduring silhouette provides a foundation for further development, and also allows for its multifunctional capabilities. All Ai handbags are adaptable to offer three convertible looks: the signature look with turn lock; the pure trapezoidal tote (corners folded inside the bag); and the classic shopper.
No need for branding or labels – the shape of the bag and its similarly trapezoidal Akris clasp offer enduring distinction.
