Akris is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, but the first look out was designer Albert Kriemler s way of telling us the Swiss brand is 90 years young. The black pebblestone-embroidered tulle sheath wasn t a model of discretion, if you get our meaning. In fact, many of the outfits in this 90-look show were noticeably sheer, but they weren t as compelling an advertisement for the brand s vitality as the tailoring, most of it softly structured and paired with sexy jersey racerback tanks that dipped low in the front.
Models strode out confidently in Walter Steiger-designed ballerina flats, wearing cardigan jackets and A-line horsehair skirts or double-face, elongated gilets with flaring bootleg pants. Tailoring is the heart and soul of Akris, and Kriemler showed the label s range, going from a casual yet crisp oversize button-down and leather almost-leggings (not quite second-skin-tight), to an ivory take on a smoking, to a fluoro orange jacket and matching color-blocked pants.
Another theme he touched on: the house-signature photoprints. This season, Kriemler used images of gardens designed by the famous Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, a personal hero of the designer s known for his curved and sensual silos. An overhead shot of the roof garden of the Banco Safra headquarters looked pretty sensational reproduced on a floor-length skirt shown with one of those low-key tanks.
With 90 looks on the runway, though, they couldn t all be hits. An organza shift with a huge leaf appliqué didn t quite live up to Akris elegant reputation. Still, we like what it suggested: that even after nine decades, Akris is still in growth mode.
