Our Story
A Woman With Purpose
It all started with a woman who knew what she wanted: Alice Kriemler-Schoch.In 1922, at just 26 years old, she had the courage to open an atelier for aprons — at a time when few women dared to forge their own path. She soon dressed the region’s most stylish women with her aprons from world-renowned St. Gallen cotton and embroidery.
Road to Paris
In 1944,Alice’s son, Max Kriemler, joined the family and named the house Akris— a tribute to the initialsof his mother’s name.He collaborated with Parisian couturiers, for whom the ateliers produced ready-to-wear collections in the 1970s. At the same time, he and his wife Ute were building their own fashion house with a distinct identity of class and quality.
Family Affair
Today, Albert Kriemler and Peter Kriemler, lead the house in its third generation — with creativity, dedication, and deep respect for their family heritage. Every piece is imagined, developed, and crafted within the house — a quiet commitment to the authenticity that defines Akris, one of the last independent fashion houses with a clear sense of purpose.
Philosophy
Creative Director Albert Kriemler has defined a design language in which heritage meets progress, and elegance is expressed through subtlety rather than spectacle. For more than four decades, he has guided Akris with a vision that has remained consistent yet ever in motion: clothes that are worn, not just noticed; that serve the modern woman, not distract from her.
"A design loved across eras always speaks to its present." - Albert Kriemler
Fabric First
At the core of Albert’s creative process lies the tactile experience of touching, draping, and exploring the fabric. Fabric is not a backdrop to the design, but its beginning. This grounding in material sensitivity forms the basis of what he calls a sensual minimalism, that speaks in clean lines, refined proportions, and a quiet confidence.