The city of St.Gallen in the east of Switzerland is the home of Akris and Albert Kriemler. St.Gallen, the Embroidery City, is renowned for its exquisite fabrics. A textile excellence cluster that started with the monks weaving linen in the late Middle Ages.
Before St. Gallen became famous for embroidery, it was known for linen. The high-altitude conditions were not conducive to sustenance farming, but they were ideal for growing flax. According to historians, whenever you approached St. Gallen, it would look as if it were under a perpetual blanket of snow, with miles of linen laid out to bleach in the surrounding fields. The linen was often called “white gold,” a reference to both its quality and the money it brought to the region, but it was embroidery, an idea brought to St. Gallen around 1750, that would make the town famous. Around 1910, more than fifty percent of the world`s embroidery production came from the picturesque town in northern Switzerland. And there has hardly been a fashion house that has not been allured by the grandeur of St.Gallen’s remaining textile cluster.
Embroidery is also central to the history of Akris. Albert Kriemlers’s grandmother, Alice Kriemler-Schoch, founded the house as an atelier for embroidered aprons in 1922. Since then, Embroidery has stayed part of the Akris signature look of refined minimalism by being integral to the garments, not attached as superfluous decoration.
To celebrate the spirit of St.Gallen, each look in the Akris Fall/Winter 2021 collection holds an embroidery item, reimagining the traditional craftsmanship with a new approach, adding an art vibe and feminine energy to smart daywear. It is important to bring historical inspiration forward. Embroidery in this collection is very modern, with effects that are based on architecture, geometrics, or graphic design. All of them are St.Gallen Embroidery. Created in collaboration with the remaining textile specialists Bischoff Textil, Forster Rohner, and Jakob Schlaepfer.
“The Trapezoid Maze Embroidery, inspired by a vintage 1966 pattern, is a playful homage to our creative cluster in St.Gallen. Visiting the workrooms and archives of Forster Rohner, Jakob Schlaepfer, and Bischoff Textil, St.Gallen`s remaining textile mills, is still like stepping into a magician’s cave.”
– Albert Kriemler
The Trapezoid Grid and Mirrored Trapezoid add a modern pattern and geometric twist to the century-old tradition.
The Tiled Roof embroidery is the one with the strongest architectural influence. It is inspired by the roof of St.Laurenzen, a church in St.Gallen. Read more about it here .
