Albert Kriemler is fashion’s most architecture-obsessed designer. Nearly all of his shows for Swiss brand Akris glow with an architectural elan and many of his collections owe their inspiration to architects themselves.
Such was the case at Akris' recent S/S 2016 Paris show when Kriemler not just channelled, but actually collaborated with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Fujimoto’s most famous works – from the Serpentine Pavilion to his House N and Naoshima Pavilion – were all plastered on Kriemler’s mood board backstage. Many of these ideas made their way onto actual fabric development and were even recreated in the life-sized show set modeled after House N.
Wallpaper*: Sou, how did you connect with Albert?
Sou Fujimoto: We met through a mutual friend, the photographer Iwan Baan. Then we just had a casual talk really about my architecture concept. He came to Japan to visit some of my projects. So then gradually he tried to reinterpret my architectural thinking into his fashion thinking.
Albert, how did you do that?
Albert Kriemler: What’s so great about Sou’s architecture is that you don’t only look at great, unexpected architecture but that you actually feel it. When I visited the Naoshima Pavilion, I’ll never forget that moment. It looked to me like a diamond, like a jewel so that inspired the collection. Fujimoto’s forest of music – the competition he won for the Budapest Music Hall – inspired a neck cut seam, but also a broderie anglaise. And two more houses, the finale dresses, I took from his own description – he said, "It’s funny the houses are silver covered and they had mirrored the nature and things." So I wanted the dresses to mirror that effect.
Sou, is this the first time you’ve jumped into fashion?
Sou Fujimoto: I designed a shop for Sacai a few years ago. But never a real fashion collaboration. Never. It is quite exciting because I am not a good fashion guy.
What are you wearing today?
Sou Fujimoto: Issey Miyake.
That makes you a fashion guy!
Sou Fujimoto: Well….[laughs]. Finally, through the conversations with Albert, I realised the strong similarity between fashion and architecture. They both create something between the human body and the world. Transparency, translucence or opaqueness – previously, I was only thinking of these themes on an architectural scale. So this opened the door to another realm.
Tell us about the show set?
Sou Fujimoto: The motif is a House N, one of my private houses. He wanted to use this house, so I sent the drawings and he rearranged it to fit the show space. I finally saw it today finished with the trees and it’s so nice.
Albert Kriemler: I am most excited about how it stands here. Everyone who came to our show tonight walked through the house and that was really important for me.
Sou, it would appear that Albert knows a heck of a lot about architecture...
Sou Fujimoto: He is quite good at seeing architecture. I gave him my book and he read all of the text. And it’s a big book. Now, he knows more about my architecture than I do!
'We met through a mutual friend, the explains the architect backstage. 'Then we just had a casual talk really about my architecture concept. He came to Japan to visit some of my projects. Then gradually he tried to reinterpret my architectural thinking into his fashion thinking'
Nearly all of Kriemler's shows glow with an architectural elan and many of his collections owe their inspiration to architects themselves
Here, Kriemler not just channelled, but actually collaborated on a recreated life-sized show set modeled after House N
Fujimoto’s most famous works – from the Serpentine Pavilion to his House N and Naoshima Pavilion – were all plastered on Kriemler’s mood board backstage
'Through the conversations with Albert, I realised the strong similarity between fashion and architecture', says Fujimoto of the experience
Many of these ideas made their way into actual fabric development
'They both create something between the human body and the world,' adds Fujimoto. 'Transparency, translucence or opaqueness – previously, I was only thinking of these themes on an architectural scale. So this opened the door to another realm'
'He is quite good at seeing architecture,' contines Fujimoto of the fashion designer. 'I gave him my book and he read all of the text. And it’s a big book. Now, he knows more about my architecture than I do!'
'What’s so great about Sou’s architecture is that you don’t only look at great, unexpected architecture but that you actually feel it,' says Kriemler. 'When I visited the Naoshima Pavilion, I’ll never forget that moment. It looked to me like a diamond, like a jewel so that inspired the collection'
The set's tranquil greenery also took over the collection's prints
'I designed a shop for Sacai a few years ago,' adds Fujimoto. 'But never a real fashion collaboration. It is quite exciting because I am not a good fashion guy'
'The finale dresses, I took from his own description – he said, "It’s funny the houses are silver covered and they had mirrored the nature and things." So I wanted the dresses to mirror that effect,' says Kriemler
-
What not to miss at NYCxDesign 2025, according to our editorsFrom mega furniture fairs to can't-miss parties, here's what to catch at North America's biggest celebration of design
-
These Loro Piana sunglasses are inspired by the house’s superlative garmentsContinuing the house’s continent-crossing journey to find the very best materials – from Mongolia to New Zealand – Loro Piana’s new sunglasses collection takes it to Japan, where the first titanium frames were made in the 1980s
-
How to build a home wine cellarOur resident drinks writer takes us through his own experiences on building the dream wine cellar at home including his favourite wines to stock up on now
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Inside ‘De toutes beautés!’, the Louvre’s new exhibition narrating 10,000 years of beauty ideals through art‘De toutes beautés!’ marks the beginning of a three-year partnership between the Louvre and L’Oréal Groupe. India Birgitta Jarvis reports on the show for Wallpaper*
-
‘A hat is an alibi, a fabulous lie’: radical milliner Stephen Jones on his career-spanning new Paris exhibitionAs ‘Stephen Jones, Chapeaux d’Artiste’ opens at Paris’ Palais Galliera, the British milliner tells Wallpaper* about the transformative power of hats, the one designer he wishes he’d collaborated with, and his lifelong love of Paris
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibitionMaude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
-
Watch: Jamie Dornan takes a bath in Le Corbusier’s villa for Loewe PerfumesJamie Dornan stars alongside Sophie Wilde in the new Loewe Perfumes 2024 campaign, shot by David Sims in Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye
-
Trudon ‘Absolu’: an intoxicating orange blossom perfume for the start of autumnTrudon ‘Absolu’, the house’s latest fragrance by Antoine Lie, blends orange blossom absolute with saffron, cardamom, tonka bean and guaiac wood
-
Jonathan Lyndon Chase on creating a ‘complicated and messy’ domestic space for Acne Studios’ latest showA musing on ‘emotions and the body, and how they affect the space around you’: American artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase tells Mahoro Seward the story behind their Acne Studios runway set, which will backdrop the brand’s S/S 2025 show in Paris later today
-
Paris Fashion Week S/S 2025 highlights: Chanel to Louis VuittonWallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss selects the best of Paris Fashion Week S/S 2025, from Chanel’s return to the Grand Palais to Nicolas Ghesquière’s ‘soft power’ at Louis Vuitton
