A New Documentary Dives Behind the Scenes at Akris
THE STORY CONTINUES: Akris may have turned 100 in 2022 but the fashion house is as vibrant as ever in the hands of its founding family's third generation.
That's the throughline of 'Akris, Fashion With a Heritage,' a 90-minute documentary set to premiere in New York on June 9 by Reiner Holzemer, the filmmaker behind well-regarded films on fashion figures such as Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten and Thom Browne.
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Shot between October 2022 and January 2025, the film is a dive behind the scenes but also the family at the heart of the independent Swiss brand.
'Telling the story of Akris was more than documenting a fashion house — it was tracing the soul of a family,' the director said. 'Through every archive photo, every fabric and every conversation with Albert and Peter [Kriemler], I felt the weight of a century filled with courage, creativity and quiet elegance.'
The camera follows creative director Albert Kriemler, peering into his creative process and the atelier as well as offering glimpses of seldom seen moments such as fabric sourcing, fittings with Princess Charlene of Monaco and his exchanges with figures of the art and architecture worlds, such as American ballet director John Neumeier and architects Sou Fujimoto and David Chipperfield.
Woven into the film are previously unseen personal archives from the family, including footage and photographs of Kriemler-Schoch and family milestones such as the wedding of Max and Ute Kriemler, who were the second generation at the helm of the house.
'Watching this documentary, it shows there's more to fashion than just an image,' Kriemler said in a statement revealing the documentary. 'An obsession with quality, pieces made to last — and always, family and incredible, passionate people — these are the things that have always been at the heart of Akris.'
Exceptional textiles continue to be front and center — in Kriemler's work of more than four decades as much as the brand's history. Founded by Kriemler's grandmother Alice Kriemler-Schoch, who 'had a really good feel for fabric' as her grandson puts it, Akris has roots in St. Gallen, Switzerland, an epicenter for textile mills and embroidery houses since the 18th century.
There's also the planning and celebration of the brand's 100th anniversary, following Kriemler and his brother Peter Kriemler, who serves as chief executive officer and president of the brand, through the preparation of the spring 2023 show in Paris, a visit in New York and the opening of the 2023 exhibition at the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, Switzerland's top design museum.
After its New York premiere, 'Akris, Fashion With a Heritage' will be screened at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival on June 16.
It has already been selected in the features category for the 2025 Tribeca X Award Competition at the 24th Tribeca Festival.
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