“St.Gallen is my home, the birthplace and the heart of Akris. It is where my grandmother founded the company in 1922 and it is here where our collections are designed every day, in the house she bought in 1944. Our home has always helped us to build our own strong identity. I wanted to present it to the world.”
- Albert Kriemler
The Akris Fall/Winter 2021 collection is about giving back to the community, it is a tribute to regional roots and a subtle homage to the unique heritage of St.Gallen. A discreet charm that you feel, but do not see at first sight. Just like the location at Felsenstrasse, the creative epicenter of Akris – covert as a small trapezoid in each of these collection's map prints dating back from 1878 to 2016.
It is here, in St.Gallen, that Akris cultivates its regional roots, created daily and beyond fleeting trends. Particularly because its place of origin is a place of shared values that are a genuine part of the Akris philosophy: quality, simplicity, modernity, understatement, and independence.
There are three different map prints in the collection. The map from 1878 shows St.Gallen and its surroundings of the 19th century in a vintage beige, broken up by a strong blue of the water in the area, like the rivers Sitter and Steinach. The second shows St.Gallen of the 20th century in Gallus Green. The color and its name are inspired by the home of Akris, St.Gallen, and the Irish Monk Gallus, who founded the town almost 1400 years ago.
The legend goes like this: In about 612, a group of Irish monks pilgrimage through Europe, and arrived in the region of the lake of Constance. Gallus, a member of the group of pilgrims was sick and was left behind.
Gallus, the adventurous Celtic Saint, wanted to live as a hermit in the loneliness of the forest, praying and serving God. In the valley of the Steinach, he stumbled over a stump of a thorn bush. He considered this as a sign of God and decided to stay at this place.
As the legend tells, Gallus and his companion Hiltibold ate together at the campfire and then lay down. When Hiltibold had fallen asleep, a wild and hungry bear appeared. Gallus told him to fetch wood to light a fire. In exchange, Gallus gave him a piece of bread and ordered that the wild animal should never harm human beings or animals. The bear never reappeared.
Monks travel from far and wide to learn from him. After the death of Gallus, monks from various regions came to live at this place and the spot grew in importance as a place of worship. A monastery was established around 720 by St.Otmar and named for Gallus.
It was the foundation of the city. And as an homage to Gallus, the canton of St.Gallen’s color is green and St.Gallen’s city coat of arm shows a bear.
The newest map from 2016 shows the city of today and is mostly found on a modern neoprene fabric, fitting the bold colors of the print.
