Mood board: Akris’ Albert Kreimler is the master of unifying art and fashion. When other brands appear to seek out partnerships for Instagrammable gimmicks or quick cultural validity, the designer imbues his art- or architecture-inspired collections with integrity and passion. His recent collaborative roster has included Geta Bratescu and Alexander Girard. For S/S 2020, the artist was taken with the work of 1903-born Italian painter Antonio Calderara, whose figurative work moved into experimentations of colour and form in the mid-1950s, focusing on lines and squares, and incorporating the mist of Lake Orta in Vacciago, where he lived from the mid-1930s. This meant an opalising colour palette of white and black, suffused with glittering golds and silvers, embodied in molten tailoring, fluid dresses, relaxed suiting and gowns embellished with graphic mosaic, in sequin silk, lurex jersey and pearlised suede.
Finishing touches: At the head of the catwalk stood a huger replica of the Akris’ signature trapezoidal tote, the ‘Ai,’ which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
The design was originally inspired by a pavilion built by the Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, and its geometric shape has become a design code of the brand.
Its silhouette was updated for spring and worn on the catwalk strung on the waist as a bumbag, or seen in its newer version the Aicon.
Best in show: A series of gauzy geometric looks, like a silk georgette kaftan and a flared trouser suit nodded to the square colour blocked tones in Calderara’s Pittura (1960).
Akris S/S 2020
Akris S/S 2020
Akris S/S 2020
Akris S/S 2020
-
What’s new in the wearable world of smart glasses, and extended and augmented realityAre you ready for AR? Meta, Google, Snap and more are gearing up to compete with Apple and deliver frames-based communications devices – complete with AI integration
-
Italian-Japanese fusion’s a joy at east London’s Osteria AngelinaA Victorian warehouse in Spitalfields has been given a slick modern makeover to house a unique Italian-Japanese restaurant
-
Meet the Palestinian artist putting a candy-coloured twist on traditional glassmakingWith her company Ornamental by Lameice, designer Lameice Abu Aker is bringing joy and optimism to a time-honoured craft
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
Horace’s new men’s scent is the linen shirt of the fragrance closetVetiver Primavera, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand Horace, is casual but elegant, says Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary – a citrussy scent for summer
-
‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
-
French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Antoni Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
-
What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
-
This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance historyFifty blueprints from a forgotten French crystal manufacturer will be for sale as part of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
-
How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion WeekDrawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
